Departmental Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much from the public purse was paid by his Department to Lexis Nexis Butterworths in each of the last five years.

John Healey: Information on payments prior to 2002-03 could be provided only at disproportionate cost due to a change in accounting system. The following table shows payments made since then.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Lexis Nexis UK 55 915 7,033 28,851 
			 Lexis Nexis Europe Ltd 65,982 59,980 72,294 85,897 
			 Butterworths Tolley 22,831 10,771 0 0

Oil: Reserves

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's policy is on the peak oil concept; and what planning his Department has undertaken on the basis of estimates of oil reserves in  (a) 25,  (b) 50 and  (c) 100 years time.

John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given yesterday by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry.
	Therein, he indicated that the view of the International Energy Agency is that the key problem is not the limit of geological oil resources. The agency noted in its 2005 publication, 'Resources to Reserves—Oil and Gas Technologies for the Energy Markets of the Future':
	"The hydrocarbon resources around the world are sufficiently abundant to sustain likely growth in the global energy system for the foreseeable future".
	Rather, the challenge lies in bringing these resources to market in a way that ensures sustainable, timely, reliable, and affordable supplies of energy. While market mechanisms will help provide the incentives for the development of these resources, as well as low carbon technologies, governments need to take appropriate action—internationally and domestically—in support of this, and also to promote energy efficiency.

Publishing

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value to the UK economy of the publishing industry was in each year since 1990.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 21 February 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary Question asking what the value to the UK economy of the publishing industry has been in each year since 1990.
	(121895)
	Estimates of gross value added by industry are currently collected through the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). Figures before 1998 were based on the Annual Census of Production (ACOP). However, figures for 1995-1998 were reworked on both bases to allow comparisons over time to be made. The table below shows both sets of figures for 1995.
	
		
			  Figures for gross value added for group 22.1 (publishing) of the standard industrial classifications 1992 and 2003 (publishing) 
			   Current prices (£ million) 
			   ABI based( 1)  ACOP based( 1) 
			 1990  4,984 
			 1991  4,872 
			 1992(2)  5,330 
			 1993  5,128 
			 1994  5,710 
			 1995 6,425 5,967 
			 1996 6,316  
			 1997 6,421  
			 1998 7,160  
			 1999 7,730  
			 2000 8,056  
			 2001 8,209  
			 2002 8,332  
			 2003 8,525  
			 2004 9,081  
			 2005 9,507  
			 (1) The annual census of production covered the production industries alone. the annual business inquiry on the other hand covers most sectors of the economy (excluding agriculture, finance and public services). The introduction of the ABI, with its greater coverage, is therefore likely to have caused a wider identification of publishing activity.  (2) Publishing is industry group 22.1 in the 1992 and 2003 standard industrial classification. Before 1993, this industry was dealt with rather differently in the then-current classification (the standard industrial classification 1980). Although the data for 1990-1992 have been converted to be broadly in line with earlier years, the change in Classification does mean that these estimates must be slightly uncertain.  (3) Note:  Estimates of gross value added are published in the results of the annual business inquiry, ONS annual survey into detailed industrial financial information on UK businesses.

Smuggling: Tobacco

Colin Breed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much duty and other taxes he estimates have been lost due to the smuggling and counterfeiting of tobacco products since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs estimates the revenue loss from consumption in the UK of illicitly supplied hand rolling tobacco and cigarettes. These are available from 2000-01.
	The estimated revenue loss to the Exchequer (duty plus VAT) on cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco due to fraud, smuggling and counterfeiting for 2000-01 to 2004-05 are given in Table 3.3 and Table 3.5 respectively of 'Measuring Indirect Tax Losses?2006' published by HMRC in December 2006 and is available in the House of Commons Library.

Departmental Promotion

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff in her Department are on temporary promotion to  (a) Band B,  (b) Band C and  (c) SMS grades.

Geoff Hoon: The number of staff currently serving on temporary promotion in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Band B 127 
			 Band C 153 
			 Senior Management Structure (SMS) (1)— 
			 (1) Number withheld for privacy reasons: it is low enough to enable individuals to be easily identified 
		
	
	We do not normally grant promotion, including temporary promotion, into the SMS to staff who have not met the normal requirements at an Assessment and Development Centre. The few temporary promotions we have made into the SMS are exceptional: they are usually time-limited appointments to cover temporary vacancies during the reorganisation of a Post or Department.

Job Creation

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many of the jobs created in Wales since 2001 have been in central and local government.

Nick Ainger: Employment in Wales is at historically high levels.
	Office of National Statistics figures for the year ending quarter 3 2006 show that public sector employment in Wales has increased by 14,000 since 2001.

Legal Opinion

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether he has met Ministers in the Department for Constitutional Affairs to discuss the effects of the Carter reforms on the provision of publicly funded legal services in Wales.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office has been in discussion with the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) at official level. We recognise that local factors are important, and what is done in Wales must be the subject of consultation there. My hon. Friend the Minister responsible for Legal Aid recently met with hon. Members representing Welsh constituencies to discuss the matter.
	On 13 July 2006, DCA published a consultation paper "Legal Aid: A Sustainable Future", simultaneously with the independent report by Lord Carter of Coles, "Legal Aid A Market-based Approach to Reform". The Government are fully committed to the market-based approach set out by Lord Carter. On 28 November 2006 DCA published "Legal Aid Reform: The Way Ahead". This sets out how the reforms to the procurement of legal aid services are to be taken forward, moving towards a market-based system, and taking account of the responses received to the consultation.

Departments: Official Cars

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles belonging to his Department were  (a) lost and  (b) stolen in each year since 1997; and what the (i) make and model and (ii) value was of each vehicle.

Gillian Merron: The Department was formed in May 2002. Based upon records kept in the Department and its agencies, the following vehicles it owns have been recorded as lost.
	
		
			  2006 
			  Department or agency  Lost or stolen  Number  Make and model  Value (£000) 
			 MCA Lost(1) 5 Ford Focus 3.300 
			Vauxhall Astra 2,000 
			Ford Focus 3,300 
			Nissan Navara 8,200 
			Land Rover 90 3,000 
			  
			 GCDA Lost(1) 4 Vauxhall Omega 2.6 Saloon 3,925 
			Vauxhall Omega 2.6 Saloon 3,400 
			Ford Transit SWB Duel Fuel 3,075 
			Ford Transit SWB Duel Fuel 3,550 
			  
			 HA Lost(1) 4 Toyota Land Cruiser 15,000 
			Nissan Pathfinder 15,000 
			Mitsubishi Shogun 15,000 
			Nissan Pathfinder 15,000 
			  
			 VOSA Lost(1) 3 Volkswagen Passat 5,300 
			Ford Galaxy 17,000 
			Ford Focus 2,250 
			 Total118,300 
		
	
	
		
			  2005 
			  Department or agency  Lost or stolen  Number  Make and model  Value (£000) 
			 MCA Lost(2) 1 Nissan Navara 20,000 
			  
			 GCDA Lost(1) 1 Vauxhall Omega 2.6 Saloon 3,600 
			  
			 DVLA Lost(1) 1 Vauxhall Astra Not available(3) 
			  
			 HA Lost(1) 2 Mitsubishi Shogun 15,000 
			Range Rover 15,000 
			  
			 VOSA Lost(1) 1 Ford Galaxy 18,000 
			 Total71,600 
		
	
	
		
			  2004 
			  Department or agency  Lost or stolen  Number  Make and model  Value (£000) 
			 MCA Lost(1) 3 Ford Focus 3,100 
			Nissan Navara 10,800 
			Nissan Terrano 1,025 
			  
			 DVLA Lost(1) 1 Peugeot Partner Not applicable(4) 
			  
			 VOSA Lost(1) 1 Skoda Octavia 7,500 
			 Total22,425 
			 (1 )Accident (2 )Arson (3 )Not available (Hire Vehicles, costs covered and dealt with direct via insurance company (4 )Not applicable (car value was 3,300, costs recovered via insurance 
		
	
	No vehicles were reported as stolen.

Avian Influenza: Disease Control

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the vulnerability of poultry sheds to incursion by wild birds via ventilation systems.

Ben Bradshaw: Our bio-security guidance to farmers has consistently highlighted the need to limit and control access to poultry flocks wherever possible, and to prevent incursion by wild birds and rodents. Access to poultry sheds via ventilation systems should be regularly inspected as a routine part of good bio-security practice.
	It is crucial that keepers follow these measures at all times, and not just during a disease outbreak.
	On 16 February 2006, Defra issued an interim epidemiological report into the source of the recent outbreak of avian influenza infection in Suffolk. It concludes that there is little evidence to support the hypothesis of transmission from a wild bird source. However, we are yet to reach a final conclusion and investigations will continue to be all-embracingin respect of possible means of introduction of the virus.

Domestic Wastes: Recycling

Shahid Malik: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of introducing compulsory minimum levels for recycling of household waste which must be met by local councils.

Ben Bradshaw: The Government have already set statutory performance standards for recycling and composting for all local authorities in England.
	261 authorities (66 per cent.) in England met or exceeded their individual targets in 2005-06, with households recycling 26.7 per cent. of their waste. This exceeded the Government target of 25 per cent. and was a 4 per cent. increase from the previous year.
	However, we still have more to do to increase our recycling and composting rates, which is why we have raised local authorities' existing 'floor level' targetfrom 18 to 20 per cent. for 2007-08. This higher baseline target will ensure a more even level of service provision across the country and help close the gap between the lowest and the highest performing local authorities.
	In October 2006, the Government published the Local Government White Paper, "Strong and Prosperous Communities". In the new local government framework, the new generation of local area agreements (LAA) will include a single set of targets for improvement (a maximum of 35 out of the 200 mandatory indicators), tailored to local needs and agreed between Government and local partners. There will be a duty for local authorities and other local partners to work together to agree the priorities in the LAA. Once agreed with Government, local partners would be required to have regard to these priorities for improvement. In this way central government is focusing its action on the things that really matter to people everywhere, guaranteeing national minimum standards, but also leaving room for local innovation and local priorities. We are developing proposals for how waste should feature in this new framework.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) shortest and  (b) average tour interval is of (i) the Light Dragoons, (ii) 1(st) Battalion The Grenadier Guards, (iii) 1(st) Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, (iv) 1(st) Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, (v) 26 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers, (vi) 19 Regiment Royal Artillery, (vii) 2 Signal Regiment Royal Signals, (viii) 4 Logistic Support RegimentRoyal Logistic Corps, (ix) 4 General Support Medical Regiment Royal Army Medical Corps, (x) the 2(nd) Royal Tank Regiment, (xi) 3 Regiment Army Air Corps (xii)9 Regiment Army Air Corps, (xiii) 2 squadron of the Royal Air Force Regiment, (xiv) 15 squadron ofthe Royal Air Force Regiment and (xv) 51 squadron of the Royal Air Force Regiment.

Derek Twigg: The shortest and average tour intervals (based on operational deployments between March 2002 and April 2007 including Herrick 6) for the Army units listed, are provided in the following table:
	
		
			  Months 
			  Unit  Shortest tour interval  Average tour interval 
			 Light Dragoons 18 22 
			 1(st) Battalion The Grenadier Guards 8 11 
			 1(st) Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment 11 25 
			 1(st) Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters 11 17 
			 26 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers 17 21 
			 19 Regiment Royal Artillery 17 17 
			 2 Signal Regiment Royal Signals 46 46 
			 4 Logistic Support Regiment Royal Logistic Corps(1) n/a n/a 
			 4 General Support Medical Regiment Royal Army Medical Corps(1) n/a n/a 
			 2(nd) Royal Tank Regiment 46 46 
			 3 Regiment Army Air Corps(1) n/a n/a 
			 9 Regiment Army Air Corps(1) n/a n/a 
			 (1) No unit TI available as these units have not deployed as formed units within the period specified. 
		
	
	The shortest and average tour intervals (based on operational deployments between 1 April 2004 and1 April 2007) for the three RAF Regiments listed, is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Months 
			  Unit  Shortest tour interval  Average tour interval 
			 2 Squadron of the Royal Air Force Regiment 12 12.5 
			 15 squadron of the Royal Air Force Regiment 11 12 
			 51 squadron of the Royal Air Force Regiment 10 11

Ex-servicemen

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to promote the availability of the UK armed forces veterans lapel badge.

Derek Twigg: The eligibility to apply for the HM Armed Forces Veterans Badge and UK Merchant Seafarers Veterans badge is advertised on the Veterans Agency website (www.veteransagency.mod.uk). It has also been publicised through government and ex-service organisation publications, through localand national press articles featuring coverage of announcements of extensions of eligibility to apply for the badge and through badge presentation ceremonies. We are also promoting badge presentation ceremonies as a key part of this year's Veterans Day events. The position is kept under review, including considering opportunities to provide further publicity for the scheme.

Falklands Islands

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Ministers will visit the Falkland Islands to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Falklands War.

Derek Twigg: My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces (Mr. Ingram) will visit the Falkland Islands to take part in events to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict in June. Other Ministers and myself will be alongside veterans in London at the centrepiece of the commemorations to mark the 25th anniversary on Horse Guards Parade on Sunday 17 June. As Veterans' Minister, I will accompany veterans when they travel to the Islands as part of the South Atlantic Medal Association (1982) pilgrimage in November.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many individuals have died whilst detained by the Multinational Forces in Iraq; how many were being held without charge or trial; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many individuals have been held by the British contingent of the Multi-National Force in Iraq but are now not in such custody; how many were held for more than  (a) one week,  (b) one month,  (c) six months,  (d) one year and  (e) two years; how many have (i) been charged, (ii) brought to trial and (iii) died in custody; whether any had British nationality; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Since 1 January 2004, British forces have interned 1,480 people, 118 remain interned and 1,362 have been released. Information on how long each was held could only be provided at disproportionate cost. None of the 1,362 released were brought to trial, charged or died whilst in custody. Readily accessible records indicate that only one of those interned held British nationality: the dual Iraqi-British national still interned.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on11 January 2007,  Official Report, column 713W to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester East (Mr. Vaz). It is not appropriate for the MOD to comment on deaths of detainees being held by other nations that make up the Multi-National Force in Iraq.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops are  (a) based in and  (b) conducting operations in the Iraqi province of (i) Dhi Qar and (ii) Al Muthanna.

Des Browne: holding answer 20 February 2007
	There are no UK troops based in the province of Al Muthanna and a small contingent based in Dhi Qar province to provide part of the command element for the Australian and Romanian Battle Group based there, which is capable of conducting operations in both Al Muthanna and Dhi Qar. I am withholding further details on the precise number of troops as it would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness, capability or security of our armed forces.

Marines: Manpower

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total  (a) required and  (b) actual personnel in the (i) 40 Commando, (ii) 42 Commando and (iii) 45 Commando for each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The following table shows both the Requirement and Strength for 40 Commando, 42 Commando and 45 Commando. Requirement data broken down by unit is only available from November 1999. The data includes both Royal Navy and Royal Marine trained personnel and excludes Full Time Reserve Service and Activated Reservist personnel.
	
		
			   40 Commando  42 Commando  45 Commando 
			  As at 1 April:  Requirement  Strength  Requirement  Strength  Requirement  Strength 
			 1997 n/a 560 n/a 430 n/a 670 
			 1998 n/a 620 n/a 540 n/a 500 
			 1999 n/a 550 n/a 500 n/a 600 
			 2000 680 580 680 480 680 570 
			 2001 680 670 680 610 680 570 
			 2002 680 600 680 540 680 680 
			 2003 690 710 690 680 690 590 
			 2004 690 660 690 670 690 690 
			 2005 690 680 690 670 690 620 
			 2006 700 580 700 630 700 620

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 session were not answered  (a) wholly or  (b) in part on grounds of disproportionate cost;
	(2)  how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 session were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before prorogation, or similar wording;
	(3)  how many written parliamentary questions to his Department in the 2005-06 session did not receive an answer.

Derek Twigg: Information about the number of written parliamentary questions not answered wholly or in part on grounds of disproportionate cost is not held in the format requested. However, it is a matterof public record and can be found in the  Official Report.
	The number of parliamentary questions that received the answer that it had not been possible to reply before prorogation was 13. According to our records 49 parliamentary questions did not receive a reply in the 2005-06 Session.

Selly Oak Hospital

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the military-managed ward at Selly Oak hospital reached initial operating capability; on what date he estimates that it will reach full operating capability; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Military Managed Ward (MMW) at Selly Oak reached Initial Operating Capability just before Christmas 2006. It provides clinical care by a combined team of military and civilian personnel for military patients whose clinical condition allows for them to be nursed in this ward. There are military managers involved at every level on the MMW, with a Military Ward Manager responsible for all aspects of the military presence on the ward, whether staffer patient issues, and for liaising with appropriate authorities. The MMW Ward Manager is assisted by three Military Deputy Ward Managers who are responsible for the planning and delivery of patient care.
	An enhanced military nursing structure is in place for this ward comprising military nurses and military health care assistants. Military nursing staff are on duty on every shift on the ward. In addition patients have the support of the Defence Welfare Service and military liaison officers based at the hospital.
	Full operating capability for the MMW is planned to be declared by this summer, subject to successful completion of building works within Ward S4.

Catering Services: House of Commons

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the policy of the Refreshment Department is on the sourcing of  (a) seasonal and  (b) local produce; and what measures are taken to encourage the development of menus based around such produce.

Nick Harvey: The Refreshment Department recognises the economic, environmental and social advantages of sourcing  (a) seasonal and  (b) local produceas part of its responsible purchasing agenda, but must achieve this within the constraints of the European public procurement regulations, which prevent local positive discrimination between EU members.
	The Department is working closely with its suppliers to increase the awareness of chefs and other food buyers of the seasonality and availability of produce, and the recently appointed executive chef has commenced a programme of reviewing all menus to increase the use of local and seasonal produce. In the absence of a legal definition of "local produce", this is taken by the Refreshment Department to apply to all UK produce. On this basis, almost 100 per cent. of fresh meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy produce is locally sourced, and an estimated 25-30 per cent. of fruit and vegetables when in season.

Departments: Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total sum of bonuses paid to civil servants in his Department was in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Gareth Thomas: The following tables give the number of non-pensionable bonuses awarded to the Department for International Development staff in each of the last two financial years, together with total cost for each year.
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID senior civil servants (SCS) 
			   Number of awards  Total cost (£) 
			 2004-05 68 266,750 
			 2005-06 65 377,100 
		
	
	
		
			  Non-pensionable bonuses awarded to DFID staff below the (SCS) 
			   Number of awards  Total cost (£) 
			 2004-05 508 230,600 
			 2005-06 1,106 515,865

Boarding Schools

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the name is of each maintained boarding school or school with boarding houses; in which local authority each school is located; how many pupils are on roll at each; and what percentage of pupils at each  (a) are eligible for free school meals,  (b) have special educational needs,  (c) are from ethnic minorities and  (d) are selected on the basis of (i) academic ability and (ii) aptitude.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 February 2007
	The available information is shown in the following tables.
	There are currently 32 state maintained mainstream boarding schools in England. The maintained boarding sector includes all ability comprehensive schools, grammar schools and one further education college. Information for the further education college is not included in the table. Some are single sex schools, others are mixed. All pupils follow the national curriculum.
	The Department does not collect information on schools which are partially selective (selecting some of their pupils by academic ability or aptitude). An indicator to show which of the maintained boarding schools are grammar schools (wholly selective) has been provided.
	
		
			  Maintained mainstream boarding schools: number on roll, school meals, special educational needs and ethnic minority information 
			  URN  LA number  Estab number  School name  Local authority  Headcount of pupils( 1)  Total boarders  Percentage of pupils known to be eligible for free schools means( 2)  Percentage of pupils with special needs with statements( 3) 
			 103870 332 5400 Old Swinford Hospital Dudley 602 375 0.0 0.2 
			 133554 420 3005 The Five Islands School Isles of Scilly 252 17 0.0 2.0 
			 121694 815 4215 Ripen Grammar School North Yorkshire 813 53 1.6 0.0 
			 110530 825 5404 The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe Buckinghamshire 1356 68 1.5 0.3 
			 113889 835 4511 Shaftsbury School Dorset 955 (5)— 8.4 1.8 
			 116407 850 4012 The Westgate School Hampshire 1138 31 3.8 0.8 
			 116468 850 4310 Kings' School Hampshire 1682 22 5.2 1.8 
			 120236 855 4002 Burleigh Community College Leicestershire 1296 31 12.1 2.5 
			 110097 870 5401 Reading School Reading 866 67 0.7 0.1 
			 113498 878 4003 Queen Elizabeth's Community College Devon 1538 40 5.0 4.1 
			 115359 881 5443 Colchester Royal Grammar School Essex 764 29 0.6 0.0 
			 116888 886 5416 Cranbrook School Kent 750 242 0.4 0.1 
			 118900 866 5428 Sir Roger Manwood's School Kent 886 46 6.7 0.2 
			 119810 888 5401 Lancaster Royal Grammar School Lancashire 1003 158 1.4 0.9 
			 123589 893 4503 The Thomas Adams School, Wem Shropshire 1324 59 6.5 2.0 
			 123593 894 5400 Adams' Grammar School Telford and Wrekin 784 92 1.1 0.0 
			 112432 909 5405 Dallam School Cumbria 955 54 4.9 1.7 
			 112441 909 5414 Keswick School Cumbria 1069 46 3.6 0.6 
			 117556 919 4614 St George's School Hertfordshire 1137 115 2.2 0.4 
			 117598 919 5427 Hockerill Anglo-European College Hertfordshire 720 238 0.7 0.4 
			 120663 925 4514 Market Rasen De Aston School Lincolnshire 1244 83 6.4 4.1 
			 120696 925 5400 The Skegness Grammar School Lincolnshire 817 63 2.6 0.0 
			 121208 926 5400 Wymondham College Norfolk 1026 536 1.2 0.6 
			 122328 929 4130 Haydon Bridge Community High School and Sports College Northumberland 741 42 5.4 2.4 
			 123235 931 4040 Burford School and Community College Oxfordshire 1155 72 4.3 2.0 
			 123902 933 5400 Sexey's School Somerset 538 288 0.9 0.4 
			 123903 933 5401 Brymore School Somerset 175 137 5.4 6.9 
			 125279 936 4623 Royal Alexandra and Albert School Surrey 642 356 3.0 2.8 
			 125303 936 5403 Gordon's School Surrey 532 160 5.3 3.4 
			 126092 938 4501 Steyning Grammar School West Sussex 2102 67 4.1 2.3 
			 120303 855 4508 Ashby School Leicestershire 1614 34 4.7 3.6 
		
	
	
		
			  URN  LA number  Estab number  School name  Local authority  Percentage of pupils with special needs without statements( 3)  Percentage ethnic minority pupils( 4)  Wholly selective schools 
			 103870 332 5400 Old Swinford Hospital Dudley 12.1 19.6 No 
			 133554 420 3005 The Five Islands School Isles of Scilly 13.1 84.3 No 
			 121694 815 4215 Ripen Grammar School North Yorkshire 1.5 5.2 Yes 
			 110530 825 5404 The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe Buckinghamshire 5.8 22.2 Yes 
			 113889 835 4511 Shaftsbury School Dorset 14.8 7.3 No 
			 116407 850 4012 The Westgate School Hampshire 13.5 5.0 No 
			 116468 850 4310 Kings' School Hampshire 18.3 6.0 No 
			 120236 855 4002 Burleigh Community College Leicestershire 12.1 26.9 No 
			 110097 870 5401 Reading School Reading 3.6 24.1 Yes 
			 113498 878 4003 Queen Elizabeth's Community College Devon 8.6 3.4 No 
			 115359 881 5443 Colchester Royal Grammar School Essex 1.3 17.5 Yes 
			 116888 886 5416 Cranbrook School Kent 0.0 11.1 Yes 
			 118900 866 5428 Sir Roger Manwood's School Kent 9.5 8.2 Yes 
			 119810 888 5401 Lancaster Royal Grammar School Lancashire 2.1 10.4 Yes 
			 123589 893 4503 The Thomas Adams School, Wem Shropshire 10.1 8.0 No 
			 123593 894 5400 Adams' Grammar School Telford and Wrekin 4.7 15.1 Yes 
			 112432 909 5405 Dallam School Cumbria 11.0 6.8 No 
			 112441 909 5414 Keswick School Cumbria 4.1 4.5 No 
			 117556 919 4614 St George's School Hertfordshire 13.5 16.8 No 
			 117598 919 5427 Hockerill Anglo-European College Hertfordshire 4.4 24.0 No 
			 120663 925 4514 Market Rasen De Aston School Lincolnshire 12.5 4.7 No 
			 120696 925 5400 The Skegness Grammar School Lincolnshire 0.6 4.8 Yes 
			 121208 926 5400 Wymondham College Norfolk 6.5 6.2 No 
			 122328 929 4130 Haydon Bridge Community High School and Sports College Northumberland 13.0 0.8 No 
			 123235 931 4040 Burford School and Community College Oxfordshire 13.3 6.0 No 
			 123902 933 5400 Sexey's School Somerset 6.7 4.6 No 
			 123903 933 5401 Brymore School Somerset 10.3 0.0 No 
			 125279 936 4623 Royal Alexandra and Albert School Surrey 18.5 18.1 No 
			 125303 936 5403 Gordon's School Surrey 12.0 7.9 No 
			 126092 938 4501 Steyning Grammar School West Sussex 6.6 5.6 No 
			 120303 855 4508 Ashby School Leicestershire 6.1 5.3 No 
			 (1) Excludes dually registered pupils.  (2) Includes full-time pupils aged up to (and including) 15 and part-time pupils aged 5 to 15 {inclusive). Includes dually registered and boarding pupils.  (3) Number of pupils with special educational needs with and without statements expressed as a percentage of total pupils on roll.  (4) Number of pupils classified as any other ethnic group than White British expressed as a percentage of all pupils of compulsory school age and above.  (5) Less than 3.   Source:  Schools Census

Children in Care

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many children under the age of five were taken into care in each year ended 31 March since1990, broken down by  (a) ethnic origin and  (b) age;
	(2)  how many children under five years of age were adopted from care in each year ending 31 March since 1990, broken down by  (a) ethnic origin and  (b) the age at which they entered care .

Parmjit Dhanda: The available information on (i) the number of children under the age of five who were taken into care broken down by ethnic group and broken down by age on starting their first period of care in the year is presented in Table 1; and (ii) the number of children under five years of age who were adopted from care broken down by ethnic group and broken down by age on starting their final period of care in the year is shown in Table 2.
	Tables 1 and 2 are not comparable partly because the ages shown are calculated on different periods of care.
	
		
			  Table 1: Children looked after by local authorities aged under five years who were taken into care during the years ending 31 March 1992 to 31 March 2006, by age on starting the first period of care in the year and by ethnicity( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)  (England) 
			  Numbers 
			   1991-92( 8)  1992-93  1993-94  1994-95  1995-96  1996-97  1997-98  1998-99 
			 All children looked after aged under five who were taken into care in the year(1, 2) 830 1,900 2,500 2,900 2,900 3,200 3,500 3,600 
			  
			  Age on starting the first period of care In the year( 3) 
			 Under 1 310 730 1,000 1,200 1,200 1,300 1,400 1,600 
			 1 160 330 440 480 490 520 530 550 
			 2 130 270 420 450 440 480 560 510 
			 3 120 280 330 390 390 440 450 510 
			 4 120 250 320 370 360 410 480 420 
			  
			  Ethnicity( 4) 
			 White — — — — — — — — 
			 Mixed — — — — — — — — 
			 Asian or Asian British — — — — — — — — 
			 Black or Black British — — — — — — — — 
			 Other Ethnic Groups — — — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Numbers 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 All children looked after aged under five who were taken into care in the year(1, 2) 4,000 3,700 4,000 4,200 4,100 4,200 4,100 
			 
			  Age on starting the first period of care In the year( 3)
			 Under 1 1,900 1,800 1,900 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,100 
			 1 610 530 560 630 580 650 620 
			 2 620 520 570 560 550 540 560 
			 3 450 480 420 510 500 510 450 
			 4 440 390 490 530 440 420 400 
			 
			  Ethnicity( 4)
			 White — 3,100 3,200 3,300 3,200 3,300 3,200 
			 Mixed — 290 460 530 440 450 450 
			 Asian or Asian British — 110 120 140 110 130 120 
			 Black or Black British — 120 200 220 280 270 290 
			 Other Ethnic Groups — 60 50 70 60 50 60 
			 (1) Source: DfES, SSDA903 return which between 1992 and 1997 and since 2004 covered all children looked after by local authorities. SSDA903 covered only a sample of third of children looked after by local authorities between 1998 and 2003. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (3) Only the first occasion on which a child was taken into care in the year has been counted. (4) Information on ethnic origin only started to be collected on 1 April 2000. (5) "Children taken into care" are children who started to be looked after under the following legal statuses: interim or full care orders, and police protection or emergency protection or child assessment orders. They exclude children freed for adoption or for whom a placement order was granted, they exclude children under voluntary accommodation and they also exclude children under youth justice legal statuses. (6) To maintain the confidentiality of each individual child, data at national level are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 or to the nearest 10 otherwise. Where the number was five or less (other than zero) this has been suppressed and replaced with a *. (7) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. (8) Due to the implementation of the Children Act (1989), figures on children looked after are not available before 14 October 1992 and figures for the year ending 1992 only cover the period from 14 October to 31 March 1992. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Children looked after by local authorities aged under five years who were adopted during the years ending 31 March 1992 to 31 March 2006, by age on starting the final period of care and by ethnicity( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8)  (England) 
			  Numbers 
			   1991-92( 7)  1992-93  1993-94  1994-95  1995-96  1996-97  1997-98  1998-99 
			 All children looked after aged under five who were adopted in the year(1, 2) 600 1,300 1,100 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,300 1,400 
			  
			  Age on starting the final period of care in the year( 3) 
			 Under 1 430 990 880 810 810 790 1,100 1,100 
			 1 90 220 150 140 140 150 130 180 
			 2 40 90 60 60 50 70 70 60 
			 3 30 30 10 10 10 10 10 10 
			 4 * * * * * * 0 0 
			  
			  Ethnicity( 4) 
			 White — — — — — — — — 
			 Mixed — — — — — — — — 
			 Asian or Asian British — — — — — — — — 
			 Black or Black British — — — — — — — — 
			 Other Ethnic Groups — — — — — — — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Numbers 
			   1999-2000  2000-01( 8)  2001-02( 8)  2002-03( 8)  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 All Children looked after aged under five who were adopted in the year(1, 2) 1,800 2,100 2,200 2,400 2,400 2,500 2,500 
			 
			  Age on starting the final period of care in the year( 3)
			 Under 1 1,400 1,600 1,700 1,900 1,900 2,000 2,000 
			 1 240 320 340 340 350 340 360 
			 2 100 120 180 140 150 170 150 
			 3 10 20 20 10 20 20 20 
			 4 0 0 0 0 * 0 * 
			 
			  Ethnicity( 4)
			 White — 1,800 1,900 2,100 2,000 2,200 2,100 
			 Mixed — 140 200 220 220 250 270 
			 Asian or Asian British — 30 30 40 50 40 40 
			 Black or Black British — 40 60 50 70 50 60 
			 Other Ethnic Groups — 40 30 20 40 30 20 
			 (1) Source:  DfES, SSDA903 return which between 1992 and 1997 and since 2004 covered all children looked after by local authorities. SSDA903 covered only a sample of third of children looked after by local authorities between 1998 and 2003. (2) Figures for children looked after in this table exclude agreed series of short term placements. (3) Only the last period of care in the year on which a child was looked after has been counted. (4) Information on ethnic origin only started to be collected on 1 April 2000. (5) To maintain the confidentiality of each individual child, data at national level are rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 or to the nearest 10 otherwise. Where the number was five or less (other than zero) this has been suppressed and replaced with a *. (6) Historical data may differ from older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials. (7) Until 31 March 1991 Statistics were collected on children in care under the legislation that preceded the Children Act. The number of children looked after collected from 14 October 1991, is not directly comparable with the number of children in care under the old legislation. Therefore figures are only shown for 1991-92 onwards. Figures for year 1992 only over the period from 14 October to 31 March 1992. (8) Figures are derived from SSDA 903 return and grossed up against the AD1 return.

Education: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on educating children from the Peterborough local education authority area out of area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information requested is contained within the following table:
	
		
			  Total expenditure by Peterborough( 1)  local authority on inter-authority recoupment( 2) : 1997-98 to 2005-06( 1,3,4,5) —cash terms figures( 5,6)  as reported by Peterborough( 1 ) local authority as at 12 February 2007 
			  £ 
			   Total expenditure on inter-authority recoupment( 1,2,3,4,5,6) 
			 1997-98(1) — 
			 1998-99 1,117,000 
			   
			 1999-2000(3) 402,000 
			 2000-01 1,190,680 
			 2001-02 1,465,000 
			   
			 2002-03(3,4) — 
			 2003-04 2,058,000 
			 2004-05 2,400,000 
			 2005-06(5) 3,180,000 
			 (1) On 1 April 1998 Cambridgeshire local authority was reorganised and split into Cambridgeshire and Peterborough local authorities and consequently figures are only available for Peterborough local authority from 1998-99 onwards. Cambridgeshire local authority (pre local government reorganisation) reported total expenditure on inter-authority recoupment of £1,081,000 million during the 1997-98 financial year. (2) Total expenditure on inter-authority recoupment comprises of any payments made by Peterborough local authority in respect of services provided by other local authorities. (3) 1999-2000 saw a change in data source when the data collection moved from the RO1 form collected by the ODPM (now the DCLG) to the section 52 form (table 3—School Level information) from the DfES. 2002-03 saw a further break in the time series following the introduction of consistent financial reporting (CFR) to schools and the associated restructuring of the outturn tables. The change in sources is shown by the blank rows. (4) Following the restructuring of the outturn tables in 2002-03, receipts and payments for inter-authority recoupment was not shown separately in that year. However, Peterborough local authority did report net expenditure on inter-authority recoupment of £634,000 for 2002-03. (5) Data are subject to change by the local authority. (6) Figures are rounded to the nearest £000.

Learning and Skills Council for England: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much the Learning and Skills Agency spent on programme expenditure in Peterborough city council area in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The programme expenditure incurred by the Learning and Skills Council at local authority level is not collected by my Department. This is an operational matter for the LSC as they determine the level of funding required at local level to deliver their key priorities and targets. Mark Haysom, the council's Chief Executive, has written to the hon. Member with further information and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	 Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 19 February 2007:
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question, how much the Learning and Skills Agency spent on programme expenditure in Peterborough City Council area in each year since 2001. I thank you for your enquiry but unfortunately I am unable to provide you with the information you seek.
	There are 47 local offices of the Learning and Skills Council each of which is responsible for the management of a local budget. The key priorities and targets that relate to each of the47 local offices are not aligned to Local Authority areas. Cambridgeshire LSC includes the Unitary Authority of Peterborough and Cambridgeshire County Council. The LSC contracts out its programme budgets to local providers who deliver both within and across local authority boundaries. Our management information systems therefore do not routinely hold information on programme spend that relates to a single Local Authority area.
	We can, with relative ease, identify what spend against a specific budget line has been contracted or spent as a whole, or with, a particular provider. However, in the main our provider contracts do not specify that learners or activity must be in specific local authority areas. For example some of our providers may contract with us via an office in Peterborough but may utilise their funds to deliver activity outside the Unitary Authority area of Peterborough. In order for us to track where activity occurred we would need to analyse our learner data and work out costings for each learner. This would be considerably time-consuming, particularly for the requested period ofsix years. I fully appreciate why this information would be of interest to you but we do not gather or hold information in this format.
	We are able to determine total programme funding spend within the Cambridgeshire LSC area. If you would like this information we will be able to provide it, but we would expect a task such as this, which extends to a period before the inception of the LSC, to take approximately four weeks. We would also have to buy in additional resources to review and analyse archived financial records so as to provide a response.
	Should you wish us to proceed with your enquiry, or discuss your request further, please contact: Dr Jon Nay, Area Director, Cambridgeshire (Jon.Nay@lsc.gov.uk, 01733 895202).

Paedophilia

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many convicted child sex offenders are on list 99; and if he will make a statement.

Alan Johnson: List 99 is a list of individuals whose employment in education and with children has been barred or restricted by the Secretary of State. It contains for each individual included the person's name, date of birth, national insurance number and, in the case of teachers, a teacher reference number. As the then Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West, reported to the House on 19 January 2006 there were 4,045 individuals on List 99,  Official Report column 967. A significant proportion of these have been barred as a result of child sexual offences. However, people may also be placed on the List because they have committed other relevant offences; as a result of allegations involving misconduct; or, on the grounds of ill health. The information about offences or allegations that have led to a person being barred or restricted by the Secretary of State is not included in List 99. The identification of all the cases where a person has been placed on the List as a result of a conviction for a sexual offence against a child would require each of the 4045 case files to be checked could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.
	A check against List 99 will reveal to a prospective employer the fact that a person is barred or restricted from relevant employment. A standard or enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check will reveal the barred status of an individual to an employer together with details of any criminal convictions.
	I intend to make a further statement in the next few weeks in which I will update the House on List 99 and on developments concerning safeguarding.

Schools: Hendon

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average level of school  (a) attendance and  (b) exclusions in Hendon was in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The information requested is shown in the tables.
	Data on exclusions are collected retrospectively. Exclusions data for 2004-05 academic year were published in June 2006.
	There are quality issues with data on permanent exclusions. The Department has carried out checking exercises in each year to confirm the overall number of permanent exclusions. However, this only confirmed the number of exclusions in each local authority. Figures provided in this response relating to permanent exclusions are as reported by schools and are known to be incomplete.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : number of exclusions, Hendon Parliamentary Constituency, 2004-05 
			   Maintained primary schools  Maintained secondary schools 
			   Permanent exclusions( 2)  Fixed period exclusions  Permanent exclusions( 2)  Fixed period exclusions 
			   Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3)  Number  Percentage( 3) 
			 2004-05 # # 20 0.20 19 0.27 539 7.55 
			 # = less than three or a rate based on less than three. (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) There are known quality issues with permanent exclusion data presented here. The number of permanent exclusions are unconfirmed and known to be incomplete. (3) The number of exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils).  Source: Schools' Census and Termly Exclusions Survey 
		
	
	
		
			  Maintained primary and secondary schools( 1) : absence data, Hendon parliamentary constituency 2005-06 
			   Percentage of half days missed 
			   Authorised absence  Unauthorised absence 
			 Maintained primary 5.40 0.69 
			 Maintained secondary 5.78 1.10 
			 Total 5.56 0.87 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed.  Note: Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

Secondary Education: Admissions

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what criteria the Schools Adjudicator will use when taking decisions under the Education (New Secondary School Proposals) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2007.

Jim Knight: The Education Act 2005 requires that the School Organisation Committee and Schools Adjudicator must have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State when deciding secondary school competition proposals. The relevant guidance was issued in August 2006 and is available on the Department's School Organisation website. The guidance sets out a range of factors that must be considered including:the effect on local standards and contribution toschool improvement; whether the proposed admission arrangements are fair and equitable; the extent of parental demand for the type of school; the impact on local diversity; cost effectiveness; the views interested parties; the contribution to local community cohesion and also the needs of families and the wider community. The guidance also makes it clear that the decision maker must balance the different strengths of all the proposals and decide which best meets the criteria for a new school overall and also the specific requirements for the new school.

Secondary Education: Admissions

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether the Schools Adjudicator will publish all materials relevant to his decision-making process once he has made a decision underthe Education (New Secondary School Proposals) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2007; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: All decisions taken by the schools adjudicator are published on the Office of the Schools Adjudicator website and include the full details of the determination and reasons for the final decision. Under the Education (New Secondary School Proposals) (England) Regulations 2006 the schools adjudicator is required to inform the proposers, the local authority, all objectors (except where there is a petition signed by more than one objector), the Secretary of State and local School Organisation Committee of his decision on school competition proposals.

Truancy

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many unauthorised absences from schools in  (a) Skelmersdale and  (b) West Lancashire there were in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many unauthorised absences were recorded in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in West Lancashire in each year from 1997 to 2006.

Jim Knight: The percentage of half days missed due to unauthorised absence in Skelmersdale North and Skelmersdale South administrative wards and West Lancashire parliamentary constituency in each year since 1997 are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage of half days missed in maintained primary schools( 1)  due to unauthorised absence( 2) 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Skelmersdale North and Skelmersdale South 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.3 
			 West Lancashire 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.3 
			 England 0.50 0.49 0.47 0.49 0.45 0.43 0.41 0.43 0.45 
		
	
	
		
			  Percentage of half days missed in maintained secondary schools( 1)  due to unauthorised absence( 2) 
			   1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Skelmersdale North and Skelmersdale South 1.5 1.8 1.3 1.0 1.3 2.4 1.8 2.1 1.8 
			 West Lancashire 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.6 0.8 1.2 0.9 1.1 0.9 
			 England 1.10 1.07 1.04 1.07 1.09 1.07 1.13 1.23 1.20 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Due to local government reorganisation, regional figures are not available prior to 1998.  Note: Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

Young People: Unemployment

Alan Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many young people were not in education, employment or training in each local authority area in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The following table gives the number of 16 to 18-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) by local authority in England, averaged for the period November 2005 to January 2006.
	Data are drawn from the operational client management systems maintained by Connexions services. It only includes those people known to the service (about 85 per cent. of the population); some young people who attended independent schools or were at school outside England are excluded. The age relates to those of calendar year age 16-18 on the date of measurement.
	These NEET measures are those used for setting and monitoring local authority NEET targets. The definition differs from that used to measure the national departmental PSA NEET target. Along with not covering the entire population, the Connexions NEET measure excludes those on gap years, those in custody and those undertaking voluntary work. The PSA measure is for academic rather than calendar age 16-18.
	
		
			  Percentage of 16 to 18-year-olds not in employment, education or training (NEET), November 2005-January 2006 
			  Local education authorities  Estimated number NEET  Percentage NEET 
			 Camden 440 8.9 
			 Greenwich 880 12.2 
			 Hackney 760 16.1 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 450 15.9 
			 Islington 650 10.5 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 190 9.5 
			 Lambeth 790 15.3 
			 Lewisham 660 9.1 
			 Southwark 770 14.5 
			 Tower Hamlets (inc. City of London) 870 12.6 
			 Wandsworth 460 6.9 
			 Westminster, City of 380 8.2 
			 Barking and Dagenham 720 12.5 
			 Barnet 600 6.2 
			 Bexley 610 8.2 
			 Brent 400 5.4 
			 Bromley 550 5.5 
			 Croydon 940 9.2 
			 Ealing 530 7.7 
			 Enfield 840 8.3 
			 Haringey 730 11.6 
			 Harrow 370 5.5 
			 Havering 650 7.2 
			 Hillingdon 780 7.9 
			 Hounslow 530 7.2 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 210 3.9 
			 Merton 220 7.7 
			 Newham 880 9.8 
			 Redbridge 580 6.5 
			 Richmond-upon-Thames 200 4.3 
			 Sutton 380 5.3 
			 Waltham Forest 550 6.5 
			 Birmingham 4,620 14.3 
			 Coventry 1,000 9.1 
			 Dudley 930 8.4 
			 Sandwell 1,050 10.6 
			 Solihull 870 9.1 
			 Walsall 960 10.3 
			 Wolverhampton 1,020 11.4 
			 Knowsley 700 12.4 
			 Liverpool 2,080 12.4 
			 St. Helens 730 12.2 
			 Sefton 870 8.3 
			 Wirral 1,180 9.7 
			 Bolton 1,140 10.8 
			 Bury 570 8.1 
			 Manchester 1,870 12.0 
			 Oldham 710 7.4 
			 Rochdale 800 10.4 
			 Salford 720 9.7 
			 Stockport 600 6.4 
			 Tameside 720 8.3 
			 Trafford 480 6.2 
			 Wigan 1,160 10.1 
			 Barnsley 980 13.4 
			 Doncaster 1,250 11.8 
			 Rotherham 980 9.9 
			 Sheffield 1,790 10.8 
			 Bradford 1,880 11.6 
			 Calderdale 650 9.5 
			 Kirklees 1,430 9.6 
			 Leeds 2,530 10.4 
			 Wakefield 1,290 11.6 
			 Gateshead 830 13.6 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 1,200 10.4 
			 North Tyneside 720 11.2 
			 South Tyneside 700 13.8 
			 Sunderland 1,390 13.6 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 310 5.3 
			 Bristol 1,030 9.3 
			 North Somerset 270 4.8 
			 South Gloucestershire 460 5.5 
			 Hartlepool 360 10.0 
			 Middlesbrough 880 15.7 
			 Redcar And Cleveland 600 10.8 
			 Stockton on Tees 720 9.9 
			 Kingston upon Hull 1,520 13.9 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 500 5.5 
			 North East Lincolnshire 660 10.0 
			 North Lincolnshire 500 8.1 
			 North Yorkshire 870 4.9 
			 York 360 5.2 
			 Bedfordshire 930 7.3 
			 Luton 600 8.6 
			 Buckinghamshire 550 3.9 
			 Milton Keynes 590 7.8 
			 Derbyshire 1,700 8.2 
			 Derby 840 9.6 
			 Dorset 660 6.0 
			 Poole 300 6.6 
			 Bournemouth 360 8.1 
			 Durham 2,100 13.3 
			 Darlington 370 9.1 
			 East Sussex 1,200 8.1 
			 Brighton and Hove 750 10.7 
			 Hampshire 2,010 4.8 
			 Portsmouth 540 11.1 
			 Southampton 710 10.4 
			 Leicestershire 1,200 6.4 
			 Leicester 1,250 10.6 
			 Rutland 10 0.9 
			 Staffordshire 1,960 7.4 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 1,380 15.7 
			 Wiltshire 650 5.7 
			 Swindon 120 6.1 
			 Bracknell Forest 250 8.6 
			 Royal Windsor/Maidenhead 180 5.0 
			 West Berkshire 300 6.4 
			 Reading 560 10.7 
			 Slough 410 9.3 
			 Wokingham 230 6.1 
			 Cambridgeshire 970 5.8 
			 Peterborough 680 10.5 
			 Cheshire 1,350 5.9 
			 Halton 510 11.2 
			 Warrington 500 7.8 
			 Devon 1,310 6.2 
			 Plymouth 830 8.2 
			 Torbay 280 6.0 
			 Essex 3,530 8.6 
			 Southend 560 8.0 
			 Thurrock 530 9.2 
			 Herefordshire 370 7.0 
			 Worcestershire 1,070 6.5 
			 Kent 2,930 6.3 
			 Medway Towns 820 8.1 
			 Lancashire 3,080 8.1 
			 Blackburn 630 10.8 
			 Blackpool 650 12.4 
			 Nottinghamshire 1,290 4.9 
			 Nottingham 940 9.6 
			 Shropshire 460 5.5 
			 Telford and Wrekin 520 8.9 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 1,210 7.1 
			 Cumbria 1,090 6.7 
			 Gloucestershire 1,190 6.0 
			 Hertfordshire 1,830 5.1 
			 Isle of Wight 240 5.5 
			 Lincolnshire 1,310 6.0 
			 Norfolk 1,870 7.5 
			 Northamptonshire 1,830 8.3 
			 Northumberland 950 9.6 
			 Oxfordshire 900 4.9 
			 Somerset 860 5.3 
			 Suffolk 1,800 8.5 
			 Surrey 1,040 3.5 
			 Warwickshire 1,040 6.2 
			 West Sussex 1,090 4.7 
			 England 134,800 8.2 
			  Note: Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, and Tower Hamlets and City of London cannot be separated.  Source: Connexion Services

Supporting People

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department offers to Supporting People teams on the support which should be made available to  (a) older and  (b) disabled people who need help with shopping.

Phil Woolas: Communities and Local Government does not set out guidance for authorities' Supporting People (SP) teams on the help and support that should be provided to service users. It is for administering authorities to decide at local level what support and services are made available to best meet the local needs and priorities that they have identified in their local five-year SP strategies.
	All administering authorities must have regard to the relevant SP grant conditions when deciding whether SP funding can be used to pay for services. These grant conditions do not allow SP funding to be used for statutory services that authorities have a duty to provide. They do not preclude administering authorities from considering any eligible scheme that could meet their local needs.

Bank Services

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the reasons are for the exclusion of  (a) debit and  (b) charge card transactions from protection under the consumer credit acts of 1974 and 2005.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 8 February 2007
	The purpose of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, as amended by the Consumer Credit Act 2006 is to provide for consumer protection in relation to the provision of credit and hire purchase transactions. A debit card is purely a payment mechanism, not a vehicle for the extension of credit and thus falls outside the scope of the Act. Similarly, a charge card does not provide credit as, although it enables the cardholder to defer payment for goods and services, the full balance must be settled each month.
	The banking industry's own code of practice, the Banking Code, sets standards of good banking practice in relation to debit cards and makes reference to charge cards. Compliance with the Code is independently monitored by the Banking Code Standards Board.

Heating: Conservation

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Department of Communities and Local Government on  (a) the role electric heating and hot water appliances will play in the Government's policy for a low carbon and sustainable energy future and  (b) the relationship between housing and energy strategies;
	(2)  what consideration he has given to electric heating as part of the UK's future energy framework;
	(3)  what discussions he has had with manufacturers of electric heating products on the low carbon heating solutions offered by electric heating;
	(4)  what assessment his Department has made of the long term low carbon sustainability of electric heating compared to other sources; and if he will make a statement;

Jim Fitzpatrick: Electric heating is one of the more expensive heating fuels. This has an impact on fuel poverty, with the recent increases in electricity prices contributing to increase in fuel poverty. Current fuel poverty policies do not replace functioning electric central heating, so this has not been mentioned in the response.

Blood Transfusions

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many blood transfusions were required in the Province in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of patients receiving a blood transfusion each year is not available. However, the number of units of red blood cells issued from the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service to all hospitals in Northern Ireland over the last 10 years are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			  Calendar Year  Units of red cells 
			 1995 61,237 
			 1996 63,531 
			 1997 66,219 
			 1998 67,139 
			 1999 67,990 
			 2000 63,641 
			 2001 63,265 
			 2002 62,627 
			 2003 64,511 
			 2004 62,712 
			 2005 60,410 
			 2006(1) 57,234 
			 (1)Figures for the entire calendar year 2006 are not currently available. Figures are available for part of 2006, and these have been projected to provide an estimate of the number of units of red blood cells issued in 2006.  Source: Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service. 
		
	
	The number of units transfused per patient varies widely but studies have indicated that the average transfusion episode involves approximately three units of red cells per patient.

Children: Obesity

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in determining the level of childhood obesity in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: In preparing the Fit Futures: Focus on Food, Activity and Young People Strategy, which has a specific focus on childhood obesity and in order to measure progress against the relevant public service agreement and investing for health targets, information is gathered from the Child Health System in each of the four Health and Social Services Boards in Northern Ireland. Details relating to the percentage of Primary 1 children (aged 54 months to 66 months) in Northern Ireland who were overweight or obese is presented in the following table.
	
		
			  Northern Ireland—Children aged approx 5 years 
			1997-98  1999-2000  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			 Male Overweight 11 13 14 14 14 
			  Obese 3 4 5 5 5 
			 Female Overweight 15 19 18 20 19 
			  Obese 5 6 7 7 6 
			 NI Overweight 13 16 16 17 17 
			  Obese 4 5 6 6 5 
			  Source: Child Health System (NI) 1997-2005, the figures above are calculated using the International Standard measurement for Obesity. 
		
	
	The collection of this data is now embedded in the Inequalities Monitoring System and is subject to annual updates.
	In addition, the NI Health and Social Wellbeing Survey 2005 has recently been published and for the first time the survey has collected data relating to the height and weight of children aged 2-15 years. Using the International Standard measurement for Obesity approximately one in 10 (8 per cent.) children were obese, and just over one in four (26 per cent.) were either overweight or obese.

Citizenship: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications for British naturalisation there were from people resident in Northern Ireland in 2006.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 19 February 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	In 2006 there were about 270 naturalisation applications from people residing in Northern Ireland.
	These data have not provided under the national statistics protocols. They were derived from local management information and is therefore provisional and subject to change.

Departmental Expenditure

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on buying, operating and supporting  (a) all commercial software products and  (b) software products produced by Microsoft in each of the last three years.

Paul Goggins: The following table provides details of the expenditure by the NIO on buying, operating and supporting commercial software products. The figures have been produced on a financial year basis. It has not been possible to identify a specific breakdown for Microsoft products relating to 2003-04 and therefore an overall figure has been provided.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2003-2004  2004-2005  2005-2006 
			 All commercial software products — 226,843 392,329 
			 Software products produced by Microsoft — 314,110 381,470 
			 Total 592,363 768,440 773,779

Departments: Equal Opportunities

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps his Department  (a) has taken and  (b) plans to take to ensure that it and related bodies are in compliance with the gender equalityduty in the Equality Act 2006 by the April 2007 deadline.

Peter Hain: The main functions of the Northern Ireland Office relate to the provision of constitutional and security issues as they relate to Northern Ireland.The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (Public Authorities) (Statutory Duties) Order 2006 (No. 2930) does not extend to Northern Ireland, however as a Whitehall Department, we do have employment functions in our London office.
	In Northern Ireland Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires public authorities to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity and regard to the desirability of promoting good relations. These duties ensure that equality issues, including gender, are integral to the whole range of public policy decision making. The NIO Equality Scheme, approved by the Northern Ireland Equality Commission in November 2001, set out how the Department proposed to fulfil those duties with regard to all of its policies and functions and the Northern Ireland Office reports on progress under section 75 annually to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
	The NIO Equality Scheme is due for revision later this year and any additional measures which may be needed to meet the requirements of employment within the Sex Discrimination Order will be considered as part of the review.
	A copy of the Northern Ireland Office Equality Scheme is available on the Northern Ireland Office website: www.nio.gov.uk and the Gender Equality Strategy for Northern Ireland for 2006 to 2016 is available to view or download at:
	http://www.ofmdfm.gov.uk/genderequalitystrategy2006-2016.pdf

NHS: Laboratories

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the costs were of operating each health service laboratory in the Province in each of the last five years; and how much was spent on staffing each laboratory.

Paul Goggins: Information on the cost of operating each group of health service laboratories in the service is shown in the following table, for the financial years 2002-03, 2003-04 and 2004-05. Information for previous years is not available.
	
		
			  2004-05 
			  £ 
			   Cost of core services  Cost of other regional services  Total cost of core services and other regional services  Staffing costs of core services 
			 Altnagelvin 6,595,548 — 6,595,548 3,368,834 
			 Belfast Link Labs 21,694,399 7,718,438 29,412,837 11,126,679 
			 Causeway 2,405,764 — 2,405,764 1,151,708 
			 Southern Labs 6,336,866 84,958 6,421,824 3,618,936 
			 Greenpark 1,174,933 — 1,174,933 493,080 
			 Mater 1,493,285 5,646 1,498,931 714,202 
			 Sperrin 2,527,488 — 2,527,488 1,109,057 
			 Ulster 4,757,006 — 4,757,006 2,605,759 
			 United 7,959,043 956 7,959,999 4,144,226 
			 Total 54,944,332 7,809,998 62,754,330 28,332,481 
		
	
	
		
			  2003-04 
			  £ 
			   Cost of core services  Cost of other regional services  Total cost of core services and other regional services  Staffing costs of core services 
			 Altnagelvin 5,980,653 — 5,980,653 2,807,702 
			 Belfast Link Labs 19,742,369 6,776,766 26,519,135 9,716,414 
			 Causeway 2,428,326 — 2,428,326 1,147,787 
			 Southern Labs 6,081,319 67,933 6,149,252 3,402,266 
			 Greenpark 1,221,141 — 1,221,141 548,862 
			 Mater 1,376,354 82,404 1,458,758 641,213 
			 Sperrin 2,414,795 — 2,414,795 1,001,848 
			 Ulster 4,025,712 — 4,025,712 2,151,181 
			 United 7,508,071 701 7,508,772 3,852,215 
			 Total 50,778,740 6,927,804 57,706,544 25,269,488 
		
	
	
		
			  2002-03 
			  £ 
			   Cost of core services  Cost of other regional services  Total cost of core services and other regional services  Staffing costs of core services 
			 Altnagelvin 5,696,737 — 5,696,737 2,638,219 
			 Belfast Link Labs 17,633,131 6,310,542 23,943,673 9,166,338 
			 Causeway 2,251,771 — 2,251,771 918,507 
			 Southern Labs 5,488,229 71,825 5,560,054 3,177,803 
			 Greenpark 1,140,970 — 1,140,970 467,583 
			 Mater 1,290,556 — 1,290,556 554,195 
			 Sperrin 2,367,609 — 2,367,609 964,703 
			 Ulster 3,786,775 — 3,786,775 1,898,639 
			 United 7,045,175 1,259 7,046,434 3,485,569 
			 Total 46,700,953 6,383,626 53,084,579 23,271,556

Retirement Age

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to the answer from the Parliamentary Secretary in the Cabinet Office to the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Marsden) of4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 189-90W, on the retirement age, what his Department's policy is for the setting of retirement ages for staff below the senior civil service under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office retirement age for staff below the senior civil service is the national default retirement age of 65. It was adopted on Sunday 1 October 2006 when the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations took effect, making it illegal for an employer to retire an employee below the age of 65. Employees have the right to request to work beyond the default retirement age of 65, but they also have the right to retire from age 60, the minimum pension age.

Saville Inquiry

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will break down by main category of expenditure the cost to public funds of the Saville Inquiry into events in Londonderry in January 1972; and what items of expenditure have been incurred since the last sitting day of the tribunal.

David Hanson: On the figures available at the end of October 2006 the total cash spend of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry was £174.36 million. Breaking this down into the main categories previously requested by the hon. Member gives the following figures. The figures in columns 3 and 4 include the retrospective payment of fees to legal representatives for work carried out up to the completion of final submissions to the Inquiry, fees to Inquiry Counsel and the continuing administrative and operational expenditure of the Inquiry and the MOD.
	
		
			  £ million 
			1 NIO (total)  2 MOD (total)  3( 1)  NIO (post December 2004)  4( 1)  MOD( 2,5) 
			 (a) Legal fees 60.858 31.843 9.428 (2)4.960 
			 (b) Accommodation 15.450 — 2.981 — 
			 (c) Transportation 4.017 — 0.520 — 
			 (d) Provision of IT equipment 13.143 — 0.591 — 
			 (e) Hiring of halls 7.715 — 0 — 
			 (f) Other (3)38.298 (4)3.034 (3)4.752 (4,5)0.735 
			 (1) Expenditure in columns 3 and 4 is included in the totals given in columns 1 and 2. (2) Payments since February 2004. (3) For the NIO this figure includes salary costs of tribunal members (except Lord Saville) and inquiry staff, witness expenses, expert witnesses, office services and security, telecommunications and other miscellaneous office expenditure. (4) For the MOD this figure includes inquiry related staff and support costs, accommodation, a police investigation and other miscellaneous fees and expenses. (5) Payments since April 2004.

Attendance and Disability Living Allowances: Bristol

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people in Bristol East are in receipt of disability living allowance high rate case component as well as high rate mobility;
	(2)  how many people in Bristol East constituency are in receipt of  (a) attendance allowance and  (b) carer's allowance.

Anne McGuire: The administration of attendance allowance, disability living allowance and carer's allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Terry Moran, dated 21 February 2007:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Bristol East are in receipt of disability living allowance high rate case component as well as high rate mobility. You also asked how many people in Bristol East constituency are in receipt of  (a) attendance allowance and  (b) carer's allowance.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	With regard to your first question, at May 2006 there were 620 Disability Living Allowance customers in receipt of highest rate care component as well as higher rate mobility component in the Bristol East Parliamentary Constituency.
	 Notes:
	Caseload (Thousands) Total shows the number of people in receipt of an allowance and excludes
	people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.
	Parliamentary Constituencies are those used for the Westminster parliament.
	 Source:
	DWP Information Directorate; Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.
	Definitions and Conventions: Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten; some additional
	control has also been applied.
	The information available is respects of your second question is in the attached annex.
	
		
			  Attendance allowance and carer's allowance in Bristol East parliamentary constituency May 2006. 
			   Attendance allowance  Carer's allowance 
			   Entitled cases  Entitled cases  Cases in payment 
			 Bristol East 3,170 1,350 760 
			  Notes: Entitled cases totals show both the number of people in receipt of an allowance and those with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. Parliamentary constituencies are those used for the Westminster parliament. Source: DWP Information Directorate; Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. Definitions and Conventions: Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten; some additional control has also been applied. 
		
	
	There are no figures currently available for cases in payment for attendance allowance.

Departments: Incentives

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total sum of bonuses paid to civil servants in his Department was in  (a) 2005 and  (b) 2006.

Anne McGuire: Performance bonus payments are awarded to employees on the basis of their individual performance. They are paid after the completion of the performance year.
	The expenditure incurred is as follows:
	
		
			  The amount paid in bonuses to DWP staff from 2005 to 2006 
			  Performance year  Year paid  Total aid (£ million) 
			 2004-05 2005 38.61 
			 2005-06 2006 42.82 
		
	
	In addition to individual performance bonus payments, DWP also paid team bonuses to selected units within the Department. The expenditure incurred is as follows:
	
		
			  The amount paid in team bonuses to DWP staff from 2005 to 2006 
			  Performance year  Year paid  Total paid (£ million) 
			 2004-05 2005 3.3 
			 2005-06 2006 (1)— 
			 (1) Not applicable  Notes: 1 Some individuals may have received more than one type of bonus payment in any given year, which is why the information has been presented separately, and not as an aggregated total. 2 No team bonus schemes have run since 2004-05. 
		
	
	Individuals may also be entitled to special bonus payments. The cost in a typical year for these bonuses is around £3 million with payments made to approximately 17,000 individuals (based on 2005-06 payments).

Departments: Race Equality Duty

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to implement the Race Equality Duty since 2000.

Anne McGuire: The Race Equality Duty came into force on 30 May 2002. Following that date, DWP published its consultation document, "Equality Opportunity and Independence for all" followed by "Realising Race Equality in the Department for Work and Pensions" in the following year. Since then, a further race equality scheme was published in 2005 and a progress report has been produced in the intervening years (the latest being 1 December 2006 to coincide with the launch of the Department's Disability and Gender Equality Schemes).
	The current equality scheme sets out the steps that DWP has taken to implement the general and specific duty, including:
	consulting with organisations about race issues including the Experience Corps an independent company set up to encourage people aged 50+ to do voluntary work in their communities, Ethnic Minority Business Forum, Ethnic Media Group, Ethnic Minority Forum and the DWP Ethnic Minority Working Party.
	developing minimum customer standards and monitoring the effect on ethnic minority customers;
	publishing a departmental monitoring and evaluation strategy on our internal website;
	setting up a project to consider, co-ordinate and recommend activities in relation to senior civil service recruitment, promotion and succession planning, and the implementation and mainstreaming of diversity procedures;
	carrying out race impact assessments (following specified guidance) on new policies and services including work force management (relocation and efficiency) reviews and decisions on office closures and early release schemes across the Department, publishing these both internally and externally.
	agreeing a new telephone-based language interpreting service that allows our staff to communicate professionally with members of the public who do not speak English as their first language.
	enhancing our Realising Potential scheme, which is aimed at ethnic minority staff who wish to develop their competence and confidence so they are able to compete on merit for opportunities.
	achieving a gold award in the 2006 Race for Opportunity (RfO) benchmark exercise. RfO is a growing network of private and public sector organisations working across the UK to promote the business case for race and diversity.
	in preparation for the Disability and Gender Equality Duties, all staff are receiving equality training which includes information on the Race Equality Duty also.
	We will assess and provide an update on outcomes and progress against our action plans, on a yearly basis. We will ensure that, as part of that process, we continue to involve our customers, their stakeholders and our staff. We will include the outcomes of our monitoring and evaluation and of impact assessments we have carried out on our policies and services. Our action plans show how we will embed this into our business planning and reporting cycles.
	The latest DWP Race Equality Schemes can be found at:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/aboutus/equalityschemes/

Health and Safety Executive: Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what total expenditure by  (a) the Health and Safety Executive and  (b) the Health and Safety Commission was in each year since 1996-97; and what it is expected to be in 2006-07.

Anne McGuire: The total expenditure for the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), as shown in the published Annual Accounts, is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  £000 
			   HSC total expenditure  HSE total expenditure 
			 1996-97 453 218,435 
			 1997-98 510 214,788 
			 1998-99 548 219,876 
			 1999-2000 556 221,639 
			 2000-01 611 241,564 
			 2001-02 605 255,060 
			 2002-03 643 255,485 
			 2003-04 644 257,535 
			 2004-05 694 272,276 
			 2005-06 848 303,834 
			 2006-07(2) 835 (3)295,767 
			 (1) The figures for HSE include the Health and Safety Laboratory. (2) The figures for 2006-07 are forecasts. (3) Responsibility for rail safety transferred to the Office of Rail Regulation from 1 April 2006.

Incapacity Benefit

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research he has undertaken into the proportion of working age people in the UK on incapacity benefit in comparison with figures for other EU countries; and if he will make a statement.

Anne McGuire: International comparisons of benefit receipt are difficult to make because of differences in benefit design, definitions of disability and demographics. Although information is not available to make comparisons with other EU countries, the available evidence shows that the proportion of the working age population in the UK in receipt of incapacity benefits is 6.6 per cent., slightly below the OECD average of 7 per cent.
	 Source:
	OECD

Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) Incapacity Benefit and  (b) Severe Disablement Allowance claimants claimed the benefit for (i) up to three months, (ii) between three to six months, (iii) between six to 12 months, (iv) between one and two years, (v) between two and three years and (vi) more than three years in each quarter since 1992.

Anne McGuire: The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the following tables:
	
		
			  Incapacity benefit claimants in Great Britain by duration of claim May 1998 to May 2006 
			  Quarter ending  All durations  Up to 3 months  3 months to 6 months  6 months to 1 year  1 year to 2 years  2 years to 3 years  3 years and over 
			 May 1998 2,407,300 161,500 130,500 212,900 322,600 249,300 1,330,500 
			 August 1998 2,391,500 165,000 125,200 200,900 324,400 249,500 1,326,400 
			 November 1998 2,389,400 172,300 126,300 189,000 321,500 250,900 1,329,400 
			 February 1999 2,362,600 172,700 132,600 183,500 309,900 254,700 1,309,200 
			 May 1999 2,366,300 157,500 127,300 191,700 299,900 257,400 1,332,500 
			 August 1999 2,355,240 159,670 133,940 194,540 285,700 258,110 1,323,280 
			 November 1999 2,361,300 167,070 124,450 194,320 284,930 258,470 1,332,070 
			 February 2000 2,348,390 152,860 129,030 189,810 288,160 252,430 1,336,110 
			 May 2000 2,352,520 158,180 121,710 185,420 293,890 241,700 1,351,640 
			 August 2000 2,380,310 161,870 128,790 185,600 294,450 236,190 1,373,420 
			 November 2000 2,387,860 159,210 128,640 183,920 290,720 234,550 1,390,820 
			 February 2001 2,415,020 158,090 132,700 191,620 285,620 237,770 1,409,230 
			 May 2001 2,420,880 159,490 127,330 193,340 279,630 241,620 1,419,470 
			 August 2001 2,435,420 155,130 131,820 192,910 281,190 241,680 1,432,690 
			 November 2001 2,425,570 157,740 120,950 186,410 276,660 237,310 1,446,500 
			 February 2002 2,427,220 150,340 125,490 185,000 276,290 230,950 1,459,160 
			 May 2002 2,471,140 174,650 124,150 186,390 282,250 228,330 1,475,370 
			 August 2002 2,478,850 153,860 147,120 185,620 281,890 228,310 1,482,060 
			 November 2002 2,489,910 162,910 124,550 201,820 280,900 227,230 1,492,500 
			 February 2003 2,493,870 154,080 131,000 203,850 278,780 228,470 1,497,700 
			 May 2003 2,494,900 153,100 124,040 186,040 294,580 231,770 1,505,370 
			 August 2003 2,502,060 152,190 124,890 183,540 294,930 230,800 1,515,710 
			 November 2003 2,509,010 157,130 122,570 178,400 296,400 229,310 1,525,210 
			 February 2004 2,509,670 147,430 126,200 179,210 297,440 228,230 1,531,160 
			 May 2004 2,508,770 146,820 122,200 179,050 276,550 243,610 1,540,540 
			 August 2004 2,514,270 146,680 122,970 178,990 274,350 244,000 1,547,280 
			 November 2004 2,514,740 150,030 120,500 174,450 269,860 245,130 1,554,770 
			 February 2005 2,503,530 136,030 121,390 174,230 266,430 245,690 1,559,760 
			 May 2005 2,490,850 137,580 111,140 171,440 262,740 223,960 1,583,990 
			 August 2005 2,478,160 135,880 112,880 162,640 258,670 220,340 1,587,750 
			 November 2005 2,466,200 130,740 110,530 157,620 255,570 216,550 1,595,190 
			 February 2006 2,464,240 125,110 115,110 160,050 250,260 213,860 1,599,840 
			 May 2006 2,449,990 124,420 105,950 160,920 245,670 210,630 1,602,400 
		
	
	
		
			  Severe disablement allowance claimants in Great Britain by duration of claim May 1998 to May 2006 
			  Quarter ending  All durations  Up to 3 months  3 months to 6 months  6 months to 1 year  1 year to 2 years  2 years to 3 years  3 years and over 
			 May 1998 377,800 7,100 6,400 16,600 42,300 36,100 269,200 
			 August 1998 377,900 7,100 6,600 13,400 41,800 35,100 273,900 
			 November 1998 378,600 7,600 6,400 12,600 39,900 32,100 280,000 
			 February 1999 378,500 8,500 7,300 12,300 34,500 33,300 282,700 
			 May 1999 378,500 5,700 6,200 12,300 27,400 37,000 289,800 
			 August 1999 377,260 5,930 6,120 11,600 23,890 37,310 292,410 
			 November 1999 376,830 5,480 5,900 11,580 23,040 35,060 295,760 
			 February 2000 375,640 5,320 5,380 11,510 22,270 31,010 300,140 
			 May 2000 375,560 5,880 5,330 10,770 22,020 23,900 307,660 
			 August 2000 376,200 6,210 5,850 10,230 21,280 21,740 310,890 
			 November 2000 376,280 5,840 6,180 10,720 20,610 20,960 311,980 
			 February 2001 377,010 6,080 5,790 11,630 20,060 20,370 313,080 
			 May 2001 374,450 2,910 6,100 11,470 19,970 20,130 313,870 
			 August 2001 370,030 890 2,870 11,390 20,250 19,460 315,170 
			 November 2001 362,140 720 840 8,090 19,590 18,140 314,760 
			 February 2002 360,000 570 690 3,700 21,120 18,160 315,760 
			 May 2002 336,480 620 570 1,400 12,210 12,630 309,050 
			 August 2002 332,580 500 600 1,170 9,380 12,500 308,430 
			 November 2002 328,560 500 490 1,100 6,610 12,510 307,360 
			 February 2003 324,700 510 480 1,050 3,680 12,720 306,260 
			 May 2003 320,760 620 540 910 2,320 11,180 305,190 
			 August 2003 316,990 430 600 970 2,050 8,600 304,340 
			 November 2003 313,260 420 410 1,080 1,870 6,090 303,390 
			 February 2004 309,490 420 410 960 1,860 3,410 302,430 
			 May 2004 305,940 410 400 790 1,860 2,150 300,350 
			 August 2004 302,730 380 400 770 1,800 1,890 297,490 
			 November 2004 299,670 470 380 760 1,740 1,730 294,600 
			 February 2005 296,340 400 450 730 1,620 1,740 291,400 
			 May 2005 292,870 390 400 780 1,430 1,740 288,140 
			 August 2005 289,590 330 380 820 1,390 1,670 285,000 
			 November 2005 286,700 300 320 740 1,430 1,630 282,280 
			 February 2006 283,250 310 310 670 1,430 1,510 279,030 
			 May 2006 280,010 230 310 600 1,420 1,300 276,140 
			  Notes: 1. For May 1998 to May 1999 (inclusive), numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. For August 1999 to May 2006 (inclusive), numbers are rounded to the nearest ten. 3. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 4. Incapacity benefit claimants include those getting incapacity benefit credits-only. 5. No new claims for severe disablement allowance have been accepted since 6 April 2001. However, some claims have to be rebuilt on the IT system, which leads to a new "start" date being created and results in these claims appearing to have shorter durations.  Source: DWP Information Directorate 5 per cent. sample and 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Pension Service: Manpower

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what staffing projections he has made for the Pension Service local service teams.

James Purnell: We are currently planning to have a local service of no more than 2,000 staff by 31 March 2008.
	Through a programme of efficiency measures local service expect to provide the same level of service to customers.

Pensions

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what factors he intends to take into account in deciding the date from which state second pension accruals will become flat-rate; and within what period of years he expects this to occur.

James Purnell: If state second pension remained unchanged, it would become a flat-rate benefit in around 2056. However, in line with the recommendation of the Pensions Commission, we have put in place the means to accelerate this eventuality. Through the measures introduced in the Pensions Bill state second pension will become completely flat-rate in around 2030. We believe this strikes the appropriate balance between moving quickly to flat-rate provision, and providing a transitional period where some earnings-related compulsion remains for a period while personal accounts bed in.

Personal Capability Assessment

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what independent research he plans to carry out to ensure that the new Personal Capability Assessment is a fit and robust assessment of limited capability for work;
	(2)  what independent monitoring he plans to carry out to ensure that the new Personal Capability Assessment is a fit and robust assessment of limited capability for work.

Jim Murphy: We are carrying out a two-part evaluation to ensure that the revised Personal Capability Assessment (PCA) constitutes a fair, robust and evidence based assessment of limited capability for work.
	An initial, limited, evaluation of the revised descriptors and scores was conducted in September and October 2006 to enable us to begin drafting regulations.
	A second, larger, evaluation is due to commence in March 2007. It will enable us to refine the recommendations of the working groups and will ensure that this is reflected in the draft regulations before they are completed.
	Both of these evaluations are being carried out by independent experts from the technical working groups who advised us on the transformation of the PCA, in liaison with medical staff from DWP and Atos Origin. The second stage evaluation will also involve representatives of the overarching consultative group involved in the PCA review.
	We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the revised PCA following its implementation from 2008. For the first two years after it is implemented we will involve in its ongoing evaluation the independent experts from the technical working groups. Those independent experts will remain in place to offer assessment, challenge and observations about the operation of the revised PCA during the first two years.
	We will then consider the most appropriate means to continue to monitor the revised assessment from 2010 onwards.

State Second Pension

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) men and  (b) women in each age group who are employed and contracted in to the state second pension.

James Purnell: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Age  All  Number employed  Number contracted into S2P  Proportion employed  Proportion contracted into S2P 
			  Male  
			 16-29 5,171,238 3,485,348 2,814,000 67.0 54.0 
			 30-39 4,083,309 3,663,945 2,270,000 90.0 56.0 
			 40-49 4,250,754 3,727,435 1 ,940,000 88.0 46.0 
			 50-59 3,726,115 2,984,101 1,960,000 80.0 53.0 
			 60-64 1,564,528 853,787 789,000 55.0 50.0 
			   
			  Female  
			 16-29 5,140,000 3,250,000 3,030,000 63.0 59.0 
			 30-39 4,500,000 3,260,000 3,120,000 72.0 69.0 
			 40-49 4,210,000 3,230,000 2,620,000 77.0 62.0 
			  50-59 3,810,000 2,570,000 2,190,000 67.0 57.0 
			  Notes: 1. Employed is defined as having done at least 1 hour of paid or unpaid work in the week in which the Labour Force Survey was undertaken. 2. Entitlement to state second pension depends on earnings or the award of certain credits. 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000.  Source: Life Time Labour Market Database (LLMDB), 2003/04; DWP Labour Market Statistics, spring quarter 2004

Winter Fuel Payments: Darlington

Alan Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Darlington received the winter fuel allowance in each year since its introduction; and what the cost was in each year.

James Purnell: Information relating to winter fuel payments for the winters of 1997-98 and 1998-99 is not available. The information from winter 1999-2000 is in the following table. Figures for this winter are not yet available but we expect them to be similar to those for 2005-06.
	
		
			   Payments made  Amount paid (£ million) 
			 1999-2000 16,070 1.2 
			 2000-01 17,710 2.8 
			 2001-02 17,710 2.7 
			 2002-03 17,820 2.7 
			 2003-04 17,790 3.0 
			 2004-05 17,500 3.1 
			 2005-06 17,540 3.1 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for payments made rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures for amount paid rounded to the nearest £100,000. 3. The winter fuel payment was £100 in the year 1999-2000, rising to £200 from the following year. 4. Payments are made at different rates and although caseloads may be similar the total expenditure may vary due to associated factors such as the breakdown of shared and full payments issued and rounding. 5. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.  Source: Information Directorate 100 per cent. sample.

Arson: Greater London

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported cases of arson occurred in each London borough in each of the last five years.

Tony McNulty: The available information relates to offences of arson recorded by the police and is given in the following table.
	
		
			  Offences of arson recorded by the police by London borough 
			  Borough  2001-02  2002-03( 1)  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Barking and Dagenham 280 214 212 177 141 
			 Barnet 162 215 144 120 92 
			 Bexley 187 161 117 88 104 
			 Brent 305 251 226 154 133 
			 Bromley 251 298 247 175 222 
			 Camden 167 179 110 99 65 
			 City of Westminster 112 93 75 62 67 
			 Croydon 243 214 226 137 150 
			 Ealing 288 212 193 138 123 
			 Enfield 193 185 167 117 99 
			 Greenwich 276 230 313 228 188 
			 Hackney 243 144 162 117 96 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 94 89 68 50 49 
			 Haringey 163 179 121 105 103 
			 Harrow 161 132 90 74 55 
			 Havering 226 203 193 158 127 
			 Hillingdon 265 262 234 153 135 
			 Hounslow 231 248 194 142 112 
			 Islington 165 144 111 101 98 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 53 37 40 27 25 
			 Kingston upon Thames 116 142 157 159 57 
			 Lambeth 198 178 164 116 99 
			 Lewisham 130 140 129 111 118 
			 Merton 169 164 138 78 77 
			 Newham 333 357 250 192 193 
			 Redbridge 148 139 133 147 94 
			 Richmond upon Thames 94 99 69 74 38 
			 Southwark 193 313 198 178 122 
			 Sutton 128 115 137 64 61 
			 Tower Hamlets 299 484 321 191 162 
			 Waltham Forest 151 109 132 103 82 
			 Wandsworth 164 137 118 101 87 
			 Total 6,188 6,067 5,189 3,936 3,374 
			 (1) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002.

Asylum: Deportation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the costs to the public purse of the  (a) deportation of failed asylum seekers and  (b) financial support for voluntary deportation in the last financial year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: The various elements of enforcement costs for removing failed asylum seekers was published and can be found in appendix 2 of the NAO report "Returning Failed Asylum Applicants". This can be accessed via the NAO website at:
	www.nao.org.uk
	The total expenditure for operating AVR (Assisted Voluntary Return) programmes in 2005-06 was £11,394,564. This includes pay, non pay and programme costs for both the VARRP (Voluntary Assisted Return and Reintegration Programme) and the AVRIM (Assisted Voluntary Return for Irregular Migrants) programme.
	In the financial year 2005-06, there were 17,135 asylum applicants, including dependants, who were removed from the UK. Of the 17,135 persons, 13,255 were removed or departed voluntarily; this figure includes enforced removals, those departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them and those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. Of the 17,135 persons, 3,880 left under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration. These figures are rounded to the nearest five and are provisional.
	It is not possible to say which stage in the asylum process applicants have reached at the time of their removal, as those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage.

Asylum: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers accommodated in  (a) Herefordshire and  (b) Hemel Hempstead constituency were granted (i) asylum, (ii) indefinite leave to remain and (iii) refugee status in each of the last 10 years; and how many illegal immigrants who had been accommodated in each area were deported in each of the last 10 years.

Liam Byrne: Information on numbers of asylum applications and decision outcomes relating to asylum seekers in particular areas of the UK is unavailable as are statistics regarding the location of asylum seekers not in receipt of support from IND. The number of illegal immigrants deported from each rea in the last 10 years is not available.
	he numbers of asylum seekers in receipt of support from IND, broken down by Government office region and local authority, are published on a quarterly and annual basis, as are asylum decisions in the UK as a whole. The latest publication covering the third quarter of 2006 is available on the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
	Further breakdowns of those in receipt of support from IND by parliamentary constituency are also available from the Library of the House.

British Nationality: Gurkhas

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the UK citizenship rights of Gurkhas who retired prior to 1997.

Liam Byrne: Eligibility for naturalisation as a British citizen is governed by the British Nationality Act 1981. This stipulates all the normal requirements for citizenship. The Secretary of State has discretion over the extent to which certain of these requirements must be satisfied in any particular case.
	In respect of the UK citizenship rights of Gurkhas, absence from the United Kingdom occasioned by the applicants service in the British armed forces will, for this purpose, be treated as residence here provided he is no longer serving in the Brigade of Gurkhas. This applies irrespective of the date of retirement from the Brigade.

Departmental Hospitality

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's expenditure was on hospitality and entertainment in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Liam Byrne: Home Office expenditure on official hospitality and entertainment is made in accordance with departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, Hospitality is defined as the provision of food, drink and entertainment of non civil servants where it is beneficial to the interests of the Department.
	The Department did not maintain separate records of expenditure on hospitality in 1996-97. Provision of figures could not be made without incurring disproportionate costs.
	Total spend for the Department for official hospitality and entertainment of non-civil servants in 2005-06 was £250,724. This figure covers hospitality provided by both civil servants' and Ministers.

Departmental Responsibilities

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which Departments he is considering to take on Home Office functions in his proposals to restructure his Department.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 19 February 2007
	Questions of changes to the machinery of Government are decided by the Prime Minister. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Prime Minister in the House of Commons on Wednesday 24 January:
	"There are proposals that the Home Secretary has made, and we will make an announcement on those in the next few weeks.

Deportation

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many forced removals from the UK took place in each of the last four years; in which regions and counties of the UK those forcibly removed were resident prior to the removal process; and in how many cases working illegally was the principal reason for the forced removal process.

Liam Byrne: The following table shows the number of persons removed from the UK from January 2003 to September 2006. Information on the region of residence and reason for removal is not available; it would be available by examination of individual records only at disproportionate cost.
	Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html
	
		
			  Removals and voluntary departures( 1, 2 ) from the UK, excluding those leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes, 2003 to September 2006( 3) 
			  Number of persons 
			  Period  2003  2004  2005( 4)  January to September 2006( 4) 
			 Persons removed and voluntary departures(1, 2, 5) n/a 56,290 51,610 n/a 
			  Of whom: 
			 Principal asylum applicants(6) 11,250 10,300 10,820 8,565 
			  Of whom: 
			 Dependants of asylum applicants n/a 1,910 1,630 985 
			  Of whom: 
			 Non-asylum cases 46,496 44,080 39,160 n/a 
			 n/a = Not available. (1) Includes enforced removals, persons departing 'voluntarily' after enforcement action had been initiated against them and since 2005 those who it is established have left the UK without informing the immigration authorities. (2) Includes cases dealt with at juxtaposed controls. (3) Figures rounded to the nearest five and may not sum due to rounding. (4) Provisional figures. (5) Excludes persons leaving under Assisted Voluntary Return Programmes run by the International Organisation for Migration. (6) Persons who had sought asylum at some stage, excluding dependants.

Doctors: Work Permits

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individual work permits for doctors and nurses were issued in 2006; how many were  (a) long-term permits of a year or more duration and  (b) short-term permits; and how many (i) long-term and (ii) short-term permits have been renewed to date.

Liam Byrne: The following table shows a breakdown of the number of long-term and short-term work permits issued to doctors and nurses, in 2006.
	The table also shows the number of work permits which were granted extensions in 2006. This includes extensions of initial work permits issued in 2006 and in the years prior.
	
		
			  Work permits issued in2006 
			   Work permits issued( 1)  Extensions issued( 2)  Total 
			  Doctor Nurse Doctor Nurse Doctor Nurse 
			 Long term(3) 10,030 1,337 3,501 321 13,531 1,658 
			 Short term(4) 176 979 26 59 202 1,038 
			 (1) First applications approved in 2006. (2) Second or further applications approved in 2006 irrespective of when the initial work permit was issued. Although the extension applications could include some people who had short-term initial applications in 2006 these would be very small numbers. (3) 12 months or more. (4) Less than 12 months.  Notes: 1. The 'Total' columns indicates the number of overseas nationals who IND to take up or continue employment as doctors and nurses in 2006.  2. The figures quoted are not National Statistics but are based on provisional management information and may be subject to change.

EC Enlargement: Turkey

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has made an assessment of potential population migration to the UK if Turkey joins the EU.

Liam Byrne: The Commission assessed the effects of Turkish membership on the EU including migration before the EU opened negotiations with Turkey. The UK Government have drawn on this in formulating its approach to Turkish membership.
	Any assessment of the implications for net migration to the UK would be affected by: the functioning of the countries' economies at the time of accession; the level of access granted to the UK labour market; and the decisions of other member states on labour market access. The issue of migration will be analysed in more detail during the accession negotiations and as the positions of the aforementioned factors become clearer, nearer the point of accession.

Highly Skilled Migrant Programme

Andrew Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were made to the MBA Provision as part of the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme in 2006; how many were successful; and how many of the successful applicants were from MBA graduates of UK universities.

Liam Byrne: The following table shows a breakdown of the number of applications under the MBA provision within the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme which were decided in 2006.
	Information on which applicants were from UK universities is not readily available from central records.
	
		
			  HSMP MBA provision applications cleared in 2006 
			   Approved  Refused  Total 
			 Initial applications 484 49 533 
			  Note: The figures quoted are not National Statistics but are based on provisional management information and may be subject to change.

Identity Cards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made ofthe number of card readers which will be used by  (a) the public sector and  (b) the private sector as part of the identity cards scheme.

Joan Ryan: There will be a number of different methods of verifying identity under the National Identity Scheme ranging from a visual check of the card, which will not require a card reader, to card authentication, PIN verification and up to biometric verification where a high level of identity assurance is required.
	The decision of any individual public or private sector organisation to use none, one or a variety of these methods in accordance with their business requirements will impact on whether they need to invest in card readers.
	The number of card readers then required by any individual accredited private sector or public sector organisation will depend on their own individual circumstances on such matters as which channels customers interact with them, how their business and information technology systems are designed and what existing infrastructure is already in place.
	Thus, until further detailed work with both public and private sector organisations during the preparation and initial rollout of the Scheme are complete, it is not possible to provide a total number of card readers that will be used by public and private sector organisations.

Identity Cards

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost of an identity card reader.

Joan Ryan: As stated in the Regulatory Impact Assessment of the Identity Cards Bill, published on 25 May 2005, it is estimated that the cost of a card reader would fall within a range of £250 to £750 depending on their level of sophistication and performance—for example, whether they are able to check a biometric as well as the card in high risk, high value transaction where the card is present.
	However, integrated with other security and verification requirements, this cost could fall substantially over the years ahead and no allowance has been made in these figures for reductions in cost due to volume discount or cost reductions owing to an increasingly competitive market for card readers, particular in the wake of the rollout of the 'Chip and PIN' network.

IND Regional Offices

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the location is of each Immigration and Nationality Directorate regional office; how many staff are employed in each office; how many of the staff in each office have been trained in the procedures for dawn raids; and how many dawn raids were carried out from each regional office in the last 12 months.

Liam Byrne: The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) do not conduct 'raids' against asylum seekers. Officers undertake operational visits to detain and remove persons who no longer have the right to remain in the United Kingdom (UK) and do so in line with operational policy and guidance.
	There are 41 Local Enforcement Offices (LEO) throughout the UK, details of which are available on the IND website. This can be accessed at:
	www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk
	The total number of IND staff working in the LEO at the end of 2006 is 2,430 of whom 594 are arrest trained to a similar standard to the police or are undergoing arrest training.
	There are 170 police officers seconded to IND nationwide.
	The total number of enforcement operations carried out before 8:00am throughout the United Kingdom in 2006 was 8,100.

Members: Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when officials in the Immigration and Nationality Directive will reply to the letter of14 June 2006 from the right hon. Member for Birmingham Ladywood on behalf of Shelley Riley (née Morgan), Home Office Reference M1047313.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on12 February 2007.

Police: Gloucestershire

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers per capita population there were in Gloucestershire in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The available data are given in the following table.
	Data are taken from Home Office Statistical Bulletin series; Police Service Strength, England and Wales.
	
		
			  Police officers per 100.000 of the population for Gloucestershire police force, as at 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2006 (FTE)( 1) 
			   Police officers 
			 31 March 1997 205 
			 31 March 1998 198 
			 31 March 1999 197 
			 31 March 2000 200 
			 31 March 2001 209 
			 31 March 2002 209 
			 31 March 2003 219 
			 31 March 2004 229 
			 31 March 2005 230 
			 31 March 2006 228 
			 (1) Full-time equivalent figures rounded to the nearest whole number. Figures up to 31 March 2002 exclude staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. The figures for 31 March 2003 onwards figures include those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many prisoners were housed in open prisons in each year since 2000, broken down by  (a) category recommended for each prisoner upon beginning their sentence and  (b) length of sentence (i) originally handed down and (ii) remaining when transferred to open prison;
	(2)  how many prisoners housed in open prisons in each year since 2000 were originally convicted of  (a) murder,  (b) rape,  (c) robbery,  (d) manslaughter,  (e) sexual assault,  (f) non-fatal criminal assault with knives and bladed instruments,  (g) possession with intent to supply drugs,  (h) simple possession of drugs,  (i) grievous bodily harm with intent,  (j) grievous bodily harm,  (k) actual bodily harm and (l) assault.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the numbers of prisoners in prison establishments in England and Wales detained in open prisons in each year since 2002, by:
	(i) offence group;
	(ii) original sentence length; and
	(iii) security category, can be found in the following tables.
	Comprehensive information on the sentence time remaining at the date of transfer to open prison is not held centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost; information on the numbers of prisoners by the categories of offence listed is not available because the numbers are small and the accuracy at this level of detail cannot be guaranteed.
	The figures provided have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and the figures have been rounded.
	
		
			  Immediate custodial sentenced population in open prisons( 1)  by offence group on 30 June 2002-06 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 All 4,300 4,600 4,600 4,600 4,000 
			 Violence against the person 1,060 1,160 1,260 1,270 1,090 
			 Sexual offences 50 40 50 50 50 
			 Robbery 360 450 430 430 390 
			 Burglary 480 480 400 350 310 
			 Theft and handling 450 340 330 290 260 
			 Fraud and forgery 380 340 310 360 310 
			 Drug offences 810 1,040 1,230 1,250 1,090 
			 Motoring offences 280 280 210 210 130 
			 Other offences 370 360 350 340 320 
			 Offence not recorded 70 70 50 40 30 
			 (1) Open prisons are those stated on the prison service annual report (Ford, Hewell Grange, Hollesley Bay, Kirkham, Leyhill, North Sea Camp, Standford Hill, Sudbury, Askham Grange, East Sutton Park and Thorn Cross) and Moorland Open, Frescoed and Spring Hill. It does not include semi-open prisons.  Data sources and quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so although shown to the last individual, the figure may not be accurate. 
		
	
	
		
			  Immediate custodial sentenced population in open prisons( 1)  by sentence length on 30th June 2002-06 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 All 4,300 4,600 4,600 4,600 4,000 
			 Less than or equal to 6 months 430 410 330 350 210 
			 Greater than 6 months to less than 12 months 220 170 180 170 140 
			 12 months to less than 4 years 1,920 1,740 1,490 1,500 1,270 
			 4 years or more (excluding indeterminate sentences) 1,290 1,790 2,160 2,100 1,940 
			 Indeterminate sentences 440 450 460 450 410 
			 (1) Open prisons are those stated on the prison service annual report (Ford, Hewell Grange, Hollesley Bay, Kirkham, Leyhill, North Sea Camp, Standford Hill, Sudbury, Askham Grange, East Sutton Park and Thorn Cross) and Moorland Open, Frescoed and Spring Hill. It does not include semi-open prisons.  Data sources and quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so although shown to the last individual, the figure may not be accurate to that. 
		
	
	
		
			  Immediate custodial sentenced population in open prisons( 1)  by security category of prisoner on 30 June, 2002-06 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 All 4,300 4,600 4,600 4,600 4,000 
			 A 0 0 0 0 0 
			 B 10 0 10 10 0 
			 C 110 110 230 270 280 
			 D 3,370 3,840 3,760 3,710 3,180 
			 Other 800 600 610 570 510 
			 (1) Open prisons are those stated on the prison service annual report (Ford, Hewell Grange, Hollesley Bay, Kirkham, Leyhill, North Sea Camp, Standford Hill, Sudbury, Askham Grange, East Sutton Park and Thorn Cross) and Moorland Open, Prescoed and Spring Hill. It does not include semi-open prisons.  Data sources and quality: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so although shown to the last individual, the figure may not be accurate to that level. These figures have been rounded.

Prisons: North West Region

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many prison places there are in the North West of England;
	(2)  what the level of overcrowding in prisons in the North West of England was at the last date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what plans he has to increase the number of prison places in the North West of England.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The total operational capacity in all prisons in the North West of England on Friday 9 February was 11,808 places. Total operational capacity is the total number of prisoners that the establishments can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime.
	The level of overcrowding for all prisons in the North West of England at the end of December 2006, the latest date for which information is available, was 31.3 per cent.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is currently undertaking searches to identify sites for new prisons in areas of highest demand for prison places. The North West region is included on this list.
	As part of the overall programme to increase prison capacity by around 10,000 places by 2012, a lease has been signed with the Mersey Care NHS Trust which will enable NOMS to open HM Prison Kennet in June 2007. Around 700 places are planned in new units at existing prisons in the North West and a new 600 place prison is planned for a site already owned by NOMS in Merseyside.

UK Borders Bill 2006-07

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Scottish Executive has given an undertaking to seek comparable statutory powers in respect of forfeiture of detained property, as set out in clause 21 of the UK Borders Bill, within Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 19 February 2007
	In Scotland there is no need to legislate for this provision as current Scottish legislation provides that property is already to be forfeited to the Crown (rather than the police).

UK Borders Bill 2006-07

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what constitutional advice determined that provisions of clauses 1 to 4 of the UK Borders Bill were matters that, with regard to their application to Scotland, were competences of the Scottish Parliament and Executive; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 19 February 2007
	Immigration is a reserved matter. The powers provided to immigration officers in clauses 1 to 4 of the UK Borders Bill allow for the detention of people pending the arrival of a constable. Were these powers to extend to Scotland, they would not be limited to reserved matters, and so far as they would relate to devolved matters, would be a matter for the Scottish Executive and Scottish Parliament.
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 8 February and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the House Library.

Serious Fraud Office

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Solicitor-General how many and what percentage of cases referred to the Serious Fraud Office were taken up by that Office in the last year for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: For 2005-06 the Serious Fraud Office saw 47 referrals and accepted 20 of the cases for investigation.
	The SFO publish their annual report setting out the progress they have made each year. The latest report can be viewed on the SFO website: www.sfo.gov.uk.

Alcohol-related Illness

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many admissions to hospital with an alcohol-related diagnosis via accident and emergency departments there were in  (a) the former Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic Health Authority area,  (b) the East of England Strategic Health Authority area,  (c) the West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust area and  (d) the Suffolk Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The tables show the information requested. Table one shows all diagnosis count of finished in year admission episodes admitted via accident and emergency department for alcohol related illness by strategic health authority (SHA) of residence for 1997-98 to 2005-06.
	Table two shows all diagnosis count of finished in year admission episodes admitted via accident and emergency departments for alcohol related illness by primary care trust (PCT) of residence for 1997-98 to 2005-06.
	Table three shows all diagnosis count of finished in year admission episodes admitted via accident and emergency departments for alcohol related illness for West Suffolk hospitals NHS trust for 1997-98 to 2005-06.
	
		
			  Table one 
			   Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Strategic HA  Essex Strategic HA  Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire Strategic HA  Total 
			 1997-98 1,337 1,457 2,501 5,295 
			 1998-99 1,264 1,282 2,507 5,053 
			 1999-2000 1,315 1,441 2,637 5,393 
			 2000-01 1,191 1,546 2,522 5,259 
			 2001-02 1,406 1,402 2,660 5,468 
			 2002-03 1,464 1,396 2,803 5,663 
			 2003-04 1,681 1,806 3,697 7,184 
			 2004-05 2,346 2,200 3,941 8,487 
			 2005-06 2,327 2,533 4,600 9,460 
			  Notes: Diagnosis codes F10 mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol; K70 alcoholic liver disease; T51 toxic effect of alcohol. These figures represent a count of all finished in year admission episodes where the method of admission was coded as emergency: via accident and emergency services, including the casualty department of the provider; or emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the accident and emergency department of another provider. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table two 
			   Central Suffolk PCT  Ipswich PCT  Suffolk Coastal PCT  Suffolk West PCT  Total 
			 1997-98 52 247 121 196 616 
			 1998-99 47 269 134 203 653 
			 1999-2000 72 292 89 217 670 
			 2000-01 78 272 101 232 683 
			 2001-02 69 314 106 256 745 
			 2002-03 83 283 163 279 808 
			 2003-04 103 345 175 346 969 
			 2004-05 110 326 139 382 957 
			 2005-06 99 297 136 442 974 
			  Notes: Diagnosis codes F10 mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol; K70 alcoholic liver disease; T51 toxic effect of alcohol. These figures represent a count of all finished in year admission episodes where the method of admission was coded as emergency: via accident and emergency services, including the casualty department of the provider; or Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the accident and emergency department of another provider. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table three 
			   West Hospitals Trust Suffolk NHS 
			 1997-98 196 
			 1998-99 192 
			 1999-2000 197 
			 2000-01 226 
			 2001-02 254 
			 2002-03 282 
			 2003-04 360 
			 2004-05 414 
			 2005-06 410 
			  Notes: Diagnosis codes F10 mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol; K70 alcoholic liver disease; T51 toxic effect of alcohol. These figures represent a count of all finished in year admission episodes where the method of admission was coded as emergency: via accident and emergency services, including the casualty department of the provider; or emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the accident and emergency department of another provider.  Finished in-year admissions A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the datayear. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year  PCT and SHA data quality PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the hospital episode statistics (HES) database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of general practitioner practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.  All diagnoses count of episodes These figures represent a count of all finished in year admission episodes where the diagnosis was mentioned in any of the 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in a HES record.  Data Quality HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 national health service trusts and PCTs in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).

Biosimilar Medicines

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps she is taking to ensure that medical professionals are incentivised to report under the yellow card scheme adverse drug reactions following the use of a biomedicine or a biosimilar medicine;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with the European Medicines Agency on the development of guidelines for the approval of biosimilar medicines for marketing;
	(3)  when she expects the European Medicines Agency to finalise guidelines for biosimilar medicines;
	(4)  when she expects publication of Volume 9a of the Rules Governing Medicinal Products in the EU;
	(5)  what assessment her Department has made of whether biosimilar medicines should undergo separate clinical trials from the biomedicines to which they are related by chemical structure and production method;
	(6)  what discussions she has had with the Medicine and Health Regulatory Authority on assessment applications for marketing authorisations of biosimilar medicines;
	(7)  whether she  (a) has met and  (b) plans to meet the Medicine and Health Regulatory Authority to discuss protocols to ensure patients are not put at risk from adverse drug reactions as a result of interchanging similar biological medicines;
	(8)  what work has been undertaken to ensure that suitable definitions and protocols are in place to ensure that similar biomedicines are safe for use by patients and are as efficacious and of as high quality as the originally marketed products;
	(9)  what protocols are in place to ensure that patients are informed that their biomedicine is to be substituted by a biosimilar medicine;
	(10)  what percentage of adverse drug reactions in the last period for which figures are available were attributed to biosimilar medicines;
	(11)  what steps she is taking to raise awareness amongst patients of the risks and benefits associated with biosimilar medicines;
	(12)  whether her Department has endorsed the EU Committee for medicinal products for human use guidelines on similar biological medicinal products;
	(13)  what steps manufacturers of biosimilar medicines are required to put in place under pharmacovigilance protocols at the time of submitting the product for marketing authorisation by the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority;
	(14)  what steps her Department takes to ensure that pharmacovigilance requirements are met for biosimilar medicines that have been granted marketing authorisation by the Medicine and Health Regulatory Authority;
	(15)  Health how the Medicines and Regulatory Agency distinguishes between generic and biosimilar medicines in its assessment procedures;
	(16)  what steps she has taken to ensure that all biosimilar medicines that have been granted a marketing authorisation by the Medicine and Health Regulatory Authority have a sufficiently robust pharmacovigilance mechanism that all instances of adverse drug reaction are reported under the yellow card scheme;
	(17)  what assessment she has made of the potential effect on health of the use of biosimilar medicines.

Caroline Flint: Biomedicines are medicines that are made from, or contain, biological active substances, unlike conventional medicines, which contain chemical active substances.
	Pharmaceutical manufacturers are allowed to copy branded medicines once all patent and data protection periods have expired. Copies of branded conventional medicines are known as generics and copies of biomedicines are known as biosimilar medicines. Because of the biological nature of biomedicines and biosimilar medicines, there may be subtle differences between the branded reference product and each copy product. This means that there are additional factors to be considered when copies of biomedicines are made and when they are assessed by the regulator for a marketing authorisation.
	Under current regulations a company applying for a marketing authorisation for a biosimilar medicine must provide comprehensive data to demonstrate the quality of their product, and include data to show that their product is comparable to the reference product. They must also submit safety and efficacy data, although the extent of such data will depend on the product and its similarity to the reference product. Much of the clinical data to support an application for a marketing authorisation for a biosimilar product will derive from separate clinical trials conducted using this product.
	In contrast, manufacturers of copies of conventional medicines (generics) are required only to demonstrate bio-equivalence with the relevant reference product, which broadly means that they only need to demonstrate that if the same dose of the generic and reference product is given, the same effect can be expected.
	Applicants for marketing authorisations for all medicines (including biosimilar medicines) must provide a description of their pharmacovigilance system (this is a description of how they intend to monitor the safety of the medicine in use). The requirements of a pharmacovigilance system are laid down in legislation. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) carries out inspections to ensure the pharmacovigilance system is suitable and the company is fulfilling its obligations. Companies wanting to market a new product must also provide a risk management plan which describes the current knowledge of the product, outlines a plan to fill any gaps in knowledge and any measures needed to minimise any risk from the product.
	Because biosimilar medicines are not identical copies of reference products, the subtle differences may make a difference to their effect when taken by patients. These differences may not become fully apparent until greater experience in the use of the medicines has been established. It is preferable, therefore, that when such products are prescribed they should be clearly identified and prescribed by brand name to ensure that patients receive the exact product prescribed and that their safety in use can be properly monitored.
	Information on how to use a medicine and the possible side effects associated with its use is provided to patients in the patient information leaflet (PIL) which accompanies the medicine. When new information arises that impacts on the balance of risk and benefit of any medicine this is evaluated and, where appropriate, the PIL is amended, and if necessary health professionals are advised.
	Health professionals and patients are encouraged to report suspected adverse reactions to any medicine to the MHRA via the voluntary yellow card scheme, which collects and monitors such reports, evaluates them and takes any action necessary to ensure patient safety. The MHRA is committed to increasing overall reporting of adverse reactions and an Expert Advisory Group of the Commission on Human Medicines is advising on this issue.
	The rules governing the content of an application for a biosimilar medicine and the assessment undertaken by the regulator are laid down in legislation and guidelines. Specifically, the data requirements to support an application for a biosimilar medicine are outlined in Section 4 of Part II of Annex 1 of Directive 2003/63/EC. Volume 9a of the Rules Governing Medicinal Products in the European Union, which provides guidance on applying the legislation, was published by the Commission on25 January 2007. The MHRA has participated in all the groups that have discussed these provisions and has endorsed the European legislation that sets out therules for assessing applications for biosimilar medicines and the various guidelines including the Guidelines on Similar Biological Medicinal Products drawn up bythe EU Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.
	To date only two biosimilar products (growth hormones) have been authorised for use in the United Kingdom. They were both authorised through the European centralised procedure overseen by the European Medicines Agency. They are intended to be prescribed by physicians adequately experienced in diagnosis and management of patients with growth deficiency. The Government are not aware any of any reports of suspected adverse reactions associated with the use of these two products.

Haemophilia

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many and what proportion of documents relating to the infection of haemophiliacs with contaminated blood products which have been returned to the Department of Health by Blackett, Heart and Pratt Solicitors have  (a) undergone independent legal examination and  (b) been passed to the Haemophilia Society;
	(2)  how many documents relating to the infection of haemophiliacs with contaminated blood products have been returned to the Department by Blackett, Heart and Pratt solicitors; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: In May 2006, Blackett Hart and Pratt solicitors returned 623 documents to departmental solicitors. All the documents were reviewed by independent counsel, before they were sent to officials in the Department. The vast majority of these documents (604 in total) were released in line with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. The documents were sent to a number of individuals at their request and to the Haemophilia Society.
	Some documents were withheld under FOI. However, officials are further reviewing these papers with a view to releasing them if possible.

Health Visitors

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many whole-time equivalent health visitors were employed by the NHS in each year since 1996; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 19 February 2007
	The table shows the number of full-time equivalent health visitors since 1996. There has been an increase in the headcount number of health visitors since 1997 of 408 (3 per cent.) and there has been significant growth in the overall number of nurses working in primary and community care settings in both 2004-05 of 3,389 (3.3 per cent.) and since 1997 of 28,504 (36.9 per cent.).
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent number of health visitors 1996 to 2005 
			   Full-time equivalent 
			 1996 10,132 
			 1997 10,025 
			 1998 10,068 
			 1999 10,161 
			 2000 10,046 
			 2001 10,186 
			 2002 9,912 
			 2003 9,999 
			 2004 10,137 
			 2005 9,809 
			  Source: Non medical workforce census

Netcare: UK

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many  (a) clinical and  (b) non-clinical staff Netcare (UK) employs undertaking services for the NHS;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of Netcare (UK) clinical staff undertaking services for the NHS have  (a) UK,  (b) EU and  (c) South African medical qualifications.

Andy Burnham: Netcare provides healthcare services through the independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) programme but also provides services in addition to those contracts. The Department does not routinely collect information on independent providers' total work force.
	Netcare has provided information on total clinical staff numbers as part of the bidding process for phase two of the ISTC programme. The information, provided in 2005, showed approximately 10,950 clinical staff. The other information requested is not held by the Department.
	Netcare is contractually required to ensure that appropriately qualified staff are employed in facilities providing services to national health service patients through the ISTC programme.

NHS Dentistry

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many fillings were undertaken by NHS dentists in the Torbay primary care trust area in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: Data are not available prior to 1998-99. The following table shows data for Torbay primary care trust (PCT) for the years ending31 March 1999 to 2006.
	
		
			  Number of individual teeth filled by national health service dentists within Torbay PCT in the years ending 31 March 1999-2006 
			  Year ending 31 March  Number of teeth filled 
			 1999 62,652 
			 2000 65,231 
			 2001 63,929 
			 2002 60,430 
			 2003 58,176 
			 2004 50,298 
			 2005 40,908 
			 2006 40,288 
			  Sources: 1. The Information Centre for health and social care 2. NHS Business Services Authority

Skin Cancer

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were diagnosed with skin cancer  (a) in each year between 1987 and 1997 and  (b) in the last 10 years.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 21 February 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people were diagnosed with skin cancer (a) in each year between 1987 and 1997 and (b) in the last 10 years. I am replying in her absence.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of cancer (incidence) are for the year 2004. Figures showing the number of cases of melanoma skin cancer registered in England, for the years 1985 to 2004, are given in the table below.
	
		
			  Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of melanoma skin( 1)  cancer registered in England, 1985-2004 
			   Number 
			 1985 2,994 
			 1986 2,999 
			 1987 3,432 
			 1988 3,879 
			 1989 3,613 
			 1990 3,505 
			 1991 3,559 
			 1992 3,893 
			 1993 4,429 
			 1994 4,465 
			 1995 4,577 
			 1996 4,487 
			 1997 4,703 
			 1998 5,000 
			 1999 5,041 
			 2000 5,821 
			 2001 6,062 
			 2002 6,416 
			 2003 6,689 
			 2004 7,363 
			 (1) Melanoma skin cancer is defined: from 1979 to 1994 as code 172 in the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (1CD-9); from 1995 as code C43 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).  Source: Office for National Statistics

Sunbeds

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will assess the merits of publishing advertisements promoting awareness of the health implications of excessive and inappropriate sun bed use;
	(2)  if she will commission a study to ascertain the number of unstaffed coin-operated tanning salons and their locations;
	(3)  if she will commission a public health study into sun bed use by people under 16.

Caroline Flint: SunSmart, the national skin cancer prevention and sun protection campaign, run by Cancer Research UK on behalf of the United Kingdom Health Departments, supports health promotion events. It includes as part of its printed resources, and on the SunSmart website, information to promote awareness of the risks to health associated with the use of sun beds. It emphasises the risks for minors, and others who are particularly vulnerableto ultra-violet rays, for example due to skin type or family history. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)guideline for customers and operators of sun beds also recommends that sun beds should not be used by young people under 16 years, and the Department and the HSE are in discussion about whether this guidance needs to be strengthened.
	The possible need for information about the number and distribution of coin-operated sun beds, and the scale of any sun bed use by minors, is one factor that the Department has considered as part of its review of options for the regulation of such sun beds.

Uniforms

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in the review of policy on the uniforms of medical staff in NHS hospitals to prevent healthcare associated infections; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The uniform and laundry review working group was established on the 25 July 2005, with its first meeting held on that day.
	The work carried out so far includes:
	a commissioned literature review on the microbiological and social importance of uniforms in relation to hospital acquired infections, carried out by Thames Valley University;
	a commissioned scientific study of the effect of water temperature on the removal of micro-organisms during laundering, carried out by University College London Hospitals. This work has recently been completed and the final report is awaited;
	the development of draft information which takes into account professional appearance, patient confidence and healthcare associated infections. This will be finalised once the final report on laundry temperatures is available; and
	a sub-group has been formed and has commenced work to refresh HSG 95(18) 'Hospital laundry arrangements for used and infected linen'.

Waiting Times

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what average waiting times are in Blackpool South for treatment in  (a) ear, nose and throat,  (b) general surgery,  (c) gynaecology,  (d) orthopaedics,  (e) rheumatology,  (f) urology and  (g) pain relief specialities.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is shown in the tables.
	
		
			  Provider-based in-patient waiting times for Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre NHS Trust, September 2006 
			 Number waiting, individual timebands (weeks) 
			  Specialty  Total waiting list  Median wait (weeks)  Less than 1  1 to 2  2 to 3  3 to 4  4 to 5  5 to 6  6 to 7  7 to 8  8 to 9  9 to 10  10 to 11  11 to 12  12 to 13 
			 General surgery 875 6.8 55 71 86 60 52 59 71 38 58 40 40 41 27 
			 Urology 354 3.2 57 64 52 30 26 26 16 19 9 11 8 8 6 
			 Trauma and Orthopaedics 887 8.5 44 57 60 73 48 70 45 31 34 39 50 39 46 
			 Ear, nose and throat 347 6.1 29 37 31 35 24 16 20 12 8 15 10 25 18 
			 Anaesthetics 38 3.8 3 4 4 11 1 0 3 0 4 0 0 1 0 
			 Rheumatology 0 n/a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Gynaecology 383 6.9 27 32 32 25 33 24 22 19 23 14 21 14 11 
		
	
	
		
			 Number waiting, individual timebands (weeks) 
			  Specialty  Total waiting list  Median wait (weeks)  13 to 14  14 to 15  15 to 16  16 to 17  17 to 18  18 to 19  19 to 20  20 to 21  21 to 22  22 to 23  23 to 24  24 to 25  25 to 26  26 + 
			 General surgery 875 6.8 30 31 41 19 11 21 4 8 6 4 1 1 0 0 
			 Urology 354 3.2 7 2 5 2 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Trauma and Orthopaedics 887 8.5 52 41 26 17 18 28 30 15 14 4 4 0 2 0 
			 Ear, nose and throat 347 6.1 9 13 12 8 4 4 4 3 7 2 0 0 1 0 
			 Anaesthetics 38 3.8 1 0 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Rheumatology 0 n/a 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Gynaecology 383 6.9 10 15 15 7 9 6 10 5 3 3 1 2 0 0 
		
	
	
		
			  Provider-based out-patient waiting times for Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre NHS Trust, September 2006 
			 Number waiting, individual timebands (weeks) 
			  Specialty  Total waiting list  Median wait (weeks)  Less than 1  1 to 2  2 to 3  3 to 4  4 to 5  5 to 6  6 to 7  7 to 8  8 to 9  9 to 10  10 to 11  11 to 12  12 to 13  13+ 
			 General Surgery 3w4 2.4 86 80 61 31 23 21 15 20 21 11 10 3 2 0 
			 Urology 87 1.9 25 22 18 6 6 4 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Trauma and orthopaedics 699 4.9 83 77 76 60 59 57 52 58 64 44 33 33 3 0 
			 Ear, nose and throat 557 2.9 89 102 99 60 54 46 38 34 20 8 5 0 2 0 
			 Anaesthetics 118 4.7 21 15 6 11 10 5 9 11 8 8 3 8 3 0 
			 Rheumatology 127 3.2 19 21 21 16 11 17 13 4 2 1 0 2 0 0 
			 Gynaecology 170 2.5 31 37 33 37 13 11 3 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 
			  Source: Department of Health, KH07 and QM08.